


Settlement

by Usami_chan13



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-25
Updated: 2012-05-25
Packaged: 2017-11-05 23:56:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 25,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/412449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Usami_chan13/pseuds/Usami_chan13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a fresh start and a brand new life for the inhabitants of Sunny Island...even for those who aren't looking for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> These are a bunch of old one-shots-turned-story that I wrote back when I started playing this particular game based on my development during my runthrough. I planned to write things based on cut-scenes and events, and other little moments that I just thought would make cute scenes to add in as kind of filler between events and such.

Tipping his cowboy hat back, Vaughn sighed as he gained a better view of the run-down ranch. He wasn't much of a farmer, but he figured the field littered with weeds, boulders, and tree stumps would make growing crops a little difficult. And the shabby buildings around this region meant no place to raise animals.

Even so, the plants growing in a small area close to the house seemed to be developing well enough. Plus, given that the inhabitants have only been on the island for a few weeks, this ranch couldn't be any worse off than the rest of the place.

In fact, the newly-established island was the whole reason he was here in the first place. He recently received a letter from Mirabelle, who had been the one to introduce him to the animal business in the first place, telling him how she and her daughter, Julia, had finally found a place to settle down and open a new animal shop. She then asked for his assistance with her store; since he was an animal trader, he could bring animals and any necessary supplies to the island so they could do business.

As a trader, however, he constantly had to travel to different cities and towns in order to do his job, and he couldn't settle on the island as Mirabelle wished he would. The only available days he had were Wednesdays and Thursdays, so he would designate those the days he came to the island.

Today, though, his prior business had been canceled, which gave him the opportunity to come to the island ahead of schedule and survey the place. There wasn't really much to the island, though, and it was far less impressive than the way Mirabelle made it out in her letter, but he wrote it off as excitement for starting up the new store.

When he visited Mirabelle and Julia in their new store, he greeted them politely as he always did, and they replied in kind. Then, as he ate breakfast with them, they began discussing how they would conduct business, with them remaining on the island and him conducting trades and such elsewhere. It was during this time that Julia brought up the farmer to the north of the island.

xxx

_"Who?" Vaughn asked._

_"Chelsea," Julia replied, taking the empty dishes and placing them in the sink. "She's the one who owns the ranch up north. She's the reason we heard about Sunny Island in the first place."_

_A questioning brow rose as Vaughn watched the younger store owner. "What's so special about her?"_

_"Well, she's working on the farm that started the trades to this island. She started making money by some of the things she shipped from the island, and we heard from one of the business dealers that people were starting to set up a town here. So Mom thought it would be a good idea to come here before anyone else could set up an Animal Store. I'm sure more people will come here when Chelsea really gets things rolling."_

_Vaughn shook his head. "Seems like a lot of commotion over one person…"_

_Julia frowned, but it suddenly became a smirk. "Well, why don't you see for yourself and meet her?"_

xxx _  
_

That was how he found himself standing in front of the small house where the girl farmer lived. It wasn't so much that he agreed with Julia to meet this girl; in fact, he would have preferred not to be here right now. He wasn't really much of a people person. However, Mirabelle approved of the idea, and mentioned how this girl could be a potential customer and it could help to meet her.

So, gathering his resolve, Vaughn gently tapped the door. "Can I come in?" he said. If the girl was awake, she would hear him; if she was still asleep, then he wouldn't wake her.

"C'mon in, door's open!" a voice from the other side called. Well…she wasn't asleep.

Hesitating for just a second, Vaughn slowly opened the door and stepped inside. As he did so, he blinked.

The girl was much younger than he expected her to be: He had anticipated that a female farmer on her own would be middle-aged – an elder woman who gained experience farming from her husband. But as he looked at her, he felt she couldn't be any older than Julia.

She sat on her bed dressed simply in a light yellow long-sleeved shirt and jean shorts, struggling to put on a pair of calf-high red boots and completely unaware of his presence. It wasn't until she grabbed an orange vest lying on the covers next to her and stood did she notice him. "Oh!" she exclaimed softly, her sapphire eyes wide. "Um…good morning."

Vaughn frowned slightly, puzzled as he carefully looked over this girl. She wasn't what he expected of a farmer living on her own. There didn't seem to be anything noteworthy about her, and seemed much too inexperienced to own as much land as she did, let alone to be responsible for the progress of the entire island. He didn't understand how Julia could put so much trust in such an ordinary girl like this. But, remembering what Mirabelle said about doing possible business with her, he simply tipped his hat politely in response.

The girl laughed softly, slipping on her vest. "Sorry," she said, recovering from her initial surprise, "I thought you were Taro." Looking over him quickly, she smiled and held out her hand. "Welcome to Rakuen Ranch. My name's Chelsea."

He slowly reached out and grasped her hand in a light handshake. "The name's Vaughn," he said. "I bring animals from town to the island."

She grinned, pulling out a red bandanna from her pocket and tying it over her chestnut hair. "Cool! So are you settling down here too?"

Vaughn cringed at the thought, but luckily his hat concealed his reaction. Shaking his head, he added, "I'm only here a few days a week."

"Oh…" Her smile slowly faded, disappointment clouding her expression. But she tried to shrug it off. "Well, I guess that's okay, too."

To him, it wasn't really a good or a bad thing…it was just work. But deciding not to express his opinion, he said instead, "Anyhow, I just came to say hello."

Chelsea giggled softly and nodded. "Okay. I'll see you around!"

"See you around…" he repeated as he turned away from her. The last thing he saw before he closed the door was the girl cheerfully waving him goodbye.

Vaughn paused at the door, inhaling deeply as the whole encounter replayed in his mind. He shook his head slightly, not sure why it persisted. But that girl…there was something about her…

Shrugging it off, he started to head back into town. He stopped for a moment, however, to look back over the ranch. It was still a messy place, run-down and in poor condition.

But as a gentle breeze blew by, the growing plants seemed to wave at him, and he smirked a little. It wasn't much now, but he had a feeling she'd work hard on it.

Didn't really matter to him, though. That was _her_ business after all, not his.


	2. Gifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was based on something Vaughn says when you talk to him when he has either a black or purple heart. I forget which...Anyway, takes place sometime in Year 1. Enjoy.

The door creaked as it slowly opened, and Vaughn glanced up just in time to see the cheerful young brunette enter the Animal Store. Her name escaped him at the moment, but it didn't really matter much to him anyway. All he knew of her was that she owned the ranch just a little up north, and that most of the people in town seemed fond of her.

"Morning, Mirabelle!" the rancher said as she walked up to the store counter.

"Good morning, Chelsea," the elder woman returned, and Vaughn made a quick mental note. "What brings you in so early this morning?"

Placing her rucksack on the counter, Chelsea smiled. "I just needed to buy some more fodder, if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course not!" Mirabelle retorted, surprised the young woman could even think such a thing. "But you certainly are going through a lot of fodder. Is your calf all right?"

Chelsea nodded as she pulled out some gold pieces from her rucksack. "I'm pretty sure she's okay. She's just growing, I guess."

"Ah, of course." Mirabelle accepted the coins from the rancher and placed it in the store reserves. "So where shall I put all this?"

"Um…you wouldn't mind sending it to my barn feed dispenser, would you?"

Mirabelle laughed softly and shook her head. "I'll send it right over." The elder woman took a moment to scribble something down on a sheet of paper before returning her attention to Chelsea. "Anything else I can do for you today?"

Pulling out two white boxes from her rucksack, Chelsea then slipped it back on and handed one of the white boxes to Mirabelle. "Well, I think I'm all done for now. But here…"

Mirabelle, looking pleasantly surprised, took the parcel. "Oh, a gift for me?" she asked, a grin spreading over her face. "Thank you very much, Chelsea!"

"You're welcome," Chelsea replied with a somewhat embarrassed smile.

Vaughn frowned slightly, pulling his hat down a bit to conceal the fact he was eavesdropping. It wasn't really any of his business, but he was more than a little suspicious of the rancher's reasons for giving Mirabelle a gift. It certainly couldn't be for no reason, could it? Perhaps she wanted something from Mirabelle? Giving gifts is a good way to get on a person's good side, especially if that person owned a store where you frequently bought required items.

His thoughts were interrupted as Julia suddenly entered his field of vision and approached the rancher. "Good morning, Chelsea," Julia greeted behind a stifled yawn. "Wow, it's before breakfast and you're already up? I'll try to work hard today, too!"

The brunette giggled softly. "Morning, Julia," she said. "I'm sure you'll do your best, but it always helps to have a little pick-me-up to get through the day…" As she spoke, she held out the other box to the other.

With a small, delighted squeal, Julia took the gift from her peer. "I'm happy I have such a good friend!" she exclaimed, pulling Chelsea into an embrace. "Thank you!"

The trader frowned again as he watched this exchange, though this time from confusion. Though Julia did help her mother around the store, Mirabelle still made the decisions around the place, far as he could tell. Winning Julia over wouldn't do much good in securing any kind of benefits…except being on good terms with Julia undoubtedly meant being on the same scale with Mirabelle…

"Morning, Vaughn." The rancher's voice cut through his thoughts, and he tipped his hat up slightly to glance at her. Though his face betrayed nothing, he was a little surprised that she remembered his name. After all, they didn't talk too much.

"What's up?" he said.

She smiled shyly, averting her gaze to the floor. "Nothing much…" she replied softly.

He watched her silently for a moment, wondering if she had anything else to say. Though she was facing him as if wanting to keep his attention, she kept her eyes to the ground and fidgeted as if itching to leave. It didn't really matter to him, though; he wasn't much of a conversationalist anyway, so if she wanted to leave it suited him fine.

"Hmph…" With a shrug, he began to turn away from her.

"How are things going with you?" she suddenly asked, calling him back again. "With…work, I mean…"

He shrugged again. "It can be hard transporting animals," he said, "but it's my job, so I deal with it."

Chelsea nodded. "You travel a lot, huh? That's why you aren't here most of the week."

"I guess so," he replied. He wasn't sure where this discussion was going, but he really needed to get back to work.

"Well, that's too bad," Chelsea said. "You don't get to see what it's like on the island during the rest of the time, and you don't really get a chance to talk with everyone."

He scoffed and turned away slightly. "That's fine with me." He closed his eyes as he sighed, "Many people get in the way of my business on this island."

The silence that followed was a beat too long. He opened his eyes slowly, and as he looked at the rancher, there was something in her eyes that sent a pang of guilt through his heart. He couldn't quite describe it, but he felt it wasn't something that belonged on her face.

"I see…" she finally said. Clearing her throat, she gave a weak smile. "Well, uh…sorry to bother you then. I guess you've got a lot of work to do, huh?"

For some reason, Vaughn felt the need to say something as he watched her backing up towards the door. But he couldn't figure out what to say.

"Hey, Chelsea," Julia piped up. "You don't have to go…"

"It's okay," the rancher replied, giving the blonde animal-taker a carefree wave. "I've got a bunch of work to do, anyway, so I probably should go. I'll see you later, Julia." Locking eyes with the cowboy once more, she smiled, braver than just a few seconds ago. "Bye, Vaughn."

Vaughn didn't say anything as she shut the door behind her. But as soon as she was gone, Julia turned to him.

"Wonderful, Vaughn!" she said crossly. "She was just trying to be friendly! Would it kill you to be _nice_ to people every once in a while?"

He scoffed, pulling his hat so it shadowed his eyes. "Whatever."

With a huff, Julia stomped back into the kitchen. He turned away, trying once more not to care about what just happened. But it was harder to do when he caught the disappointed expression in Mirabelle's eyes.

She said nothing about it, though, and the Animal Store silently returned to work.

* * *

Vaughn sighed softly as he pulled his bag over his shoulder, making his way to the beach. Silence filled the summer night air, save the sounds of the crickets and the crunching of ground beneath his boots. It was getting late, and his boat would arrive soon to take him off the island.

As he headed for the docks, however, he was surprised when he noticed a movement through the darkness. He figured most of the townspeople were already home, getting ready to turn in for the night. So who would still be out now?

When he was close enough to the docks, he figured out just who it was.

"It's a little late to be so far from your ranch, isn't it?" he asked as he stopped next to Chelsea.

The brunette shrugged, and Vaughn could now see the fishing rod she held in her hands. "Unfortunately, work never seems to sleep," she replied. Glancing at him, she grinned. "You, of all people, would know that."

"Hmph…" he replied, though he had to admit he was impressed by how hard she was willing to work. "Maybe, but it'll be hard to work without taking a break once in a while…"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, reeling in her line. "I was just finishing up here, anyway." She paused for a minute, looking towards him once again. "You getting ready to go?"

He nodded. "I need to get to Sun Valley tomorrow."

Chelsea frowned slightly, brushing back her hair from her shoulder. "That's a pretty long trip."

Vaughn shrugged. "It's my job, so I don't really care."

He felt her eyes studying him for a minute. Then she suddenly placed her fishing rod on the ground and removed her rucksack. Before he could ask what she was doing, she held out a silver canister to him. "Here," she said.

Hesitantly he took it from her, trying to get a better look at it in the darkness. "What's this?" he wondered.

"It's…uh…milk," Chelsea replied softly, glancing away from him.

He looked up at her, taken aback. "Milk?"

"Yeah…it's the first time my calf has given milk before, so I don't know how it is, but…well…"

Vaughn looked at the canister in his hand. "For me?"

Somehow, in the dark, he could tell that she was blushing. "I guess I shouldn't have assumed that you'd like it," she said, rubbing her arm, "since you're around animals all the time. But you said transporting animals can be hard work, so I wanted to give you something that might help. And you know what they say about milk…strong bones and all that…" She laughed softly, though it had an edge of anxiety. "Anyway, if you don't want it, it's okay…"

A smile tugged the corners of his mouth, and he shook his head. "Thanks," he said, tipping his hat to her. "I'll take it."

Looking up at him, Chelsea blinked in disbelief. Then she smiled. "You're welcome."

With a sudden laugh, the rancher grabbed her fishing rod. "I better get going," she said, resting the rod on her shoulder. "But I'll see you next week, right?"

Vaughn shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

Chelsea smiled and nodded vigorously. "Okay." With a wave, she ran up the beach and back toward West Town. "See ya next week!"

Vaughn frowned slightly as he watched her disappear into the darkness. No one had ever looked forward to seeing him before, and he wondered what she could possibly mean by that. But then he shrugged again, and turned out towards the sea to wait for his boat. It wasn't his concern anyway, and Sunny Island was just business.

Still, as he remembered the canister of milk he still held and began putting it away in his bag, he couldn't help but smile a little. It might be nice when he returned next week.

The island was interesting, at any rate…


	3. Lost and Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on Vaughn's purple heart event. This took place sometime still in Year 1, I believe. At least I'm pretty sure. Anyway, enjoy.

Looking over the surrounding area, Vaughn shook his head when nothing familiar turned up. Pacing a little bit, he walked to the other side and looked around there. When he found nothing, he growled softly to himself.

How could he have been so careless? He usually checked all his equipment over at the end of the day to make sure he had everything, and performed a double-check before loading everything onto the boat to make his trades. So how could he not notice all the gear he was missing until _after_ he left Sunny Island yesterday?

The revelation certainly set him back; once he discovered the missing items, he had to take the next ferry _back_ to the island in order to find it, despite the fact that he wasn't supposed to be on the island on Fridays. The stuff he misplaced was too important to leave behind, and was required in order to do his job: animal medicines, tools, trading lists…if he didn't find that stuff soon, he would end up in a lot of trouble.

But trying to find it was wasting too much time. And retracing his steps as Julia had suggested earlier wasn't helping at all, because he _still_ hadn't found what he was looking for!

"Vaughn!"

The cowboy jumped slightly, but regained his composure quickly before turning to look at the brunette rancher who looked at him with surprised sapphire eyes.

Noticing she now had his attention, Chelsea said, "What are you doing?"

Frustration still clouding over him, Vaughn seemed to process things a bit slower than usual. "Chelsea," he grunted. "What am I doing?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, today's Friday, right? What are you doing on the island?"

His hands clenched tightly; he didn't have time for this. "None of your business," he snapped.

He meant to turn away at this point, but the girl's eyes remained fixed with his own. She stared at him, a mixture of curious irritation in her frown; he stared right back, as though daring her to say anything else.

So deep in their silent exchange, neither of them noticed Denny walking down the path. Nor did they see him stop and glance in their direction until his voice broke between them.

"…Huh?" he said. "What's wrong?"

As Chelsea turned to the tan fisherman, Vaughn felt his stress beginning to mount. He knew that the stubborn brunette wouldn't leave him alone until he said something, and he wanted nothing more than for her to go away and leave him in peace. So he said, "Okay. I lost something. But I'll take care of it."

He only intended for the girl in front of him to hear his words, but unfortunately he spoke loud enough for even the other man to notice he said _something_ , however unclear it was.

"What did you say?" Denny asked, looking towards the animal trader.

His patience already thinned, Vaughn growled again as he turned toward the fisherman. Provoked by this new interruption, he spat out, "…Whatever. Just leave me alone." And he turned his back on them both, wishing they would go away.

There was a heavy pause that seemed to last a little too long, then Denny cleared his throat. "…I see," he said hesitantly. "Let's file that under 'my bad'."

Vaughn listened carefully as footsteps echoed around them, quickly fading until he no longer heard them. He felt a little relieved then, satisfied that _someone_ had the sense to leave. Still, he had only heard _one_ pair of footsteps, and he felt eyes boring into his back.

Annoyed, he turned back to glare at the blue-eyed rancher. "Why are you still here?" he demanded.

Chelsea hesitated for a moment. Then she said slowly, "I'll look for it with you."

Vaughn blinked, a little surprised. He rather thought the girl hadn't heard his confession about losing something when Denny arrived, sure that the other man's presence had distracted her. But even more surprising was that she would still help him, even after everything that's taken place in the past few minutes.

Expression softening a little, the cowboy exhaled some of his lingering exasperation and finally admitted to himself that he could possibly use the help. "…Fine," he said. "It's a box of my work gear. Why don't you look over there?"

She nodded, for once not saying anything as she headed in the direction he assigned her. As the dirt crunched beneath her feet, Vaughn once again began to look in the area around him. When his search continued to prove unsuccessful, the need to punch something grew stronger.

The girl's light footsteps approaching alerted him to her coming, and he turned around to face her. As he did, his eyes were drawn to her hands that held out a black box, the cover just slightly ajar as a glass bottle kept it propped open.

"Well, I'll be," he muttered. "That's it." Taking the box from her, his body seemed to relax as the stress drained out from him. "Phew. Glad you found it."

Chelsea grinned. "Not a problem," she said, giving him a wink.

Vaughn frowned, holding the box underneath his arm. "I could've found it by myself," he insisted, somewhat stubbornly, "but…thanks."

The girl shrugged, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly. "You're welcome," she replied. "I'm glad I could help."

He nodded, tipping his hat to her. "I appreciate it."

For some strange reason, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Maybe because he actually _needed_ her help to find his missing things, maybe because she had been willing to help him despite the way he acted…or maybe because she just kept smiling at him…He wasn't really sure, but he suddenly felt the need to leave. Besides, he needed to get back to the docks and catch the next ferry off the island.

With one last nod, Vaughn stepped around her. "Bye," he said curtly, heading down the path back to West Town. He was glad when she didn't say anything, and even more so when she didn't follow him. But he could feel her eyes focused on him once again as he left.

And, as his grip on his work gear box tightened, his heart pounded rapidly in his chest…and he couldn't figure out why.


	4. Smiles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually based on something kinda funny that happened in my game. Since Vaughn only comes to the island two days a week, it took me forever to get him up to a blue heart. But on his birthday in Year 2, I had given him a birthday present, and I noticed that his heart went from purple to blue right after he got it. I wanted to try something, and I left the beach and went right back, and activated his first blue heart cut scene. It was pretty interesting, so I ended up combining both events here.

"Vaughn! Hey, Vaughn!"

A little startled, Vaughn turned slightly towards the voice calling him and watched as Chelsea ran up to him, sand flying up in her wake. He took a step back as she rapidly approached, fearing that she might run into him and knock him into the ocean.

His concerns were unsound, however, as she came to an abrupt halt in front of him. She paused, learning forward and resting her hands on her knees. "Mornin'," she gasped out as she fought to catch her breath.

Vaughn could feel an eyebrow rising slightly as he stared puzzled at this girl. Surely she hadn't run all the way down here just to greet him…had she? "Good morning," he replied, his tone as serious as ever.

Chelsea stood to her full height, inhaling deeply as her breathing finally calmed, though her cheeks were still slightly flushed in her rush to get here. "I'm glad I finally found you," she said. "When I missed you at the Animal Store, Julia said you might be here."

Suspicion quickly took control and he folded his arms over his chest. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Well…" The brunette rancher reached behind her back; a silver milk canister gleamed in the sunlight as she pulled it out of her rucksack, presenting it to him. "Here. This is for you."

He blinked in surprise, hesitantly taking the milk from the rancher. It had been so long since he had gotten something – _anything_ , really – on this particular day. Without thinking, he blurted out, "A birthday gift? Thanks."

As he reached up to politely tip his hat to her, he noticed the girl's sapphire eyes had widened significantly, and he frowned. "What?" he wondered.

She pointed a finger at him. "It's your birthday today?"

Vaughn blinked again. "You…didn't know?"

Chelsea shook her head, her chestnut hair fluttering as she did so. "No. I had no idea. I'll make a note of it now, though."

Glancing at the flask in his hand, he looked back at the girl standing before him with puzzled violet eyes. "If you didn't know, then why –?"

Chelsea's sudden giggle cut him off. "C'mon, Vaughn," she said, mockingly exasperated. "It's been almost a year since we first came to the island. You should know by now that I do this _all_ the time."

Regaining his composure, Vaughn scoffed and turned away from her. There was something gnawing the back of his mind, but he thought better of mentioning it to her. He'd rather be alone to reflect on it, and he hoped she would leave if he ignored her long enough.

Unfortunately, that was not the case; time passed, but he continued to feel her eyes boring into him. Finally she cleared her throat and said, "Is something wrong?"

Reluctantly turning to face her, he eyed her warily, unsure if he wanted to tell her. But for the second time that day, his mouth seemed to move of its own accord, and he could not stop the words that came out. "You know, most people don't talk to me. Not more than they have to, anyway."

It was the girl's turn to raise a questioning eyebrow. "Really?"

Though he detected the sarcasm in her tone, he ignored it with a shrug. "Guess something about me rubs people the wrong way. Do you know what it is?" He paused, realizing how strange that sounded. Just to make himself perfectly clear, he added, "…Not that I care…"

For a moment, Chelsea simply stared at him, and he wondered if she had even heard him…or if she was even taking him seriously. He opened his mouth to tell her to drop it, but stopped as she placed a thoughtful finger to her chin, her sapphire eyes studying him carefully as her brow drew together in concentration.

Just as he began to feel a tad uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze, her hands dropped to her hips. "Well…" she began slowly, "you could smile more."

Vaughn stared at her uncertainly. That wasn't an answer he expected. "Huh? What's the big deal about smiling?" he demanded.

She rolled her eyes slightly. "It's just a nicer thing to do."

He shook his head. "I don't get it."

Her mouth scrunched up slightly as she breathed sharply through her nose. Crossing her arms, she retorted, "Well, it wouldn't kill you. Just try it."

"Huh?" She raised her head slightly, challenging him to try backing down. So he sighed and nodded. "Okay, okay. I'll give it a shot…I guess."

She grinned, obviously proud of herself, and returned the nod.

Analyzing her expression for a few seconds, he then tried to imitate it; he thought he could feel the corners of his mouth curling a bit, but something about it didn't feel quite right. "How's this?" he asked.

Blinking, Chelsea shook her head.

"No?" Thinking for a moment and trying to remember his companion's various examples, Vaughn felt his face contort a little as he tried again. "How about this?"

Chelsea stared for a moment, biting her bottom lip slightly. Then she turned her head away, covering her mouth as she suddenly coughed. Looking back at him, she shook her head again. "Nope…"

Vaughn growled softly in the back of his throat. "Still not quite, huh?" he huffed. There was a slight throbbing in his left temple as he was starting to realize how ridiculous he was acting. So he squared his shoulders and scowled at the rancher. "Forget it. I don't need to smile to do my job."

At first, he thought she would get angry with him and storm away – in fact, he _hoped_ she would and just leave him alone. To his surprise, her sapphire eyes seemed to soften. "But I'd like to see you smile…" she replied, barely a whisper.

The sound of the waves rushing to shore filled the silence between them, as Vaughn stared at her with wide violet eyes. "Oh…Really?" he managed to stammer.

She blushed slightly, laughing nervously as she rubbed the back of her head and glanced away from him.

And he felt a warmth flood to his face as well, staring at this strange girl. "I'll be danged," he muttered, mostly to himself. "Nobody's ever asked to see me smile." The sound of his heart pounding echoed in his head, and with just a beat he snapped out of his daze. The ability to think quickly returned to him, and he frowned. "Hey."

Attention drawn, Chelsea looked at him with an inclined head.

"Why the interest in my smile?" he wondered, suspicion once again washing over him like the waves on the beach. "You make some kind of bet?"

The rancher's eyes widened, as though stricken by the thought. "What?" she cried, clearly appalled. "Of course not!"

Vaughn wasn't entirely convinced though. "Huh," he said, then shrugged. "I don't get it, then."

He turned slightly, just about ready to leave. But she still seemed upset by his comment. So, wanting to make up for his accusation, he said, "Well, I'll work on it. It's gonna take some practice."

She seemed unsure what to do for a moment, watching him tentative eyes. Then she smiled slightly and nodded. "Sure."

Observing her facial expression, he felt the corners of his mouth tugging upward slightly in one last attempt to mimic her. However, still feeling a little self-conscious, he concealed the effort by reaching up and tipping his hat to her. "Thanks," he said, his tone kinder than normal. "See ya."

With one last nod, he headed down the beach to get back to work.

Chelsea remained on the beach for a moment, staring after the animal trader in stunned silence. Then, as the waves lapped at her feet and brought her back to reality, she giggled to herself and looked out at the ocean.

It _would_ take some practice, she quietly agreed. But it was definitely worth the wait.


	5. Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based on the Spring Crop Festival in Year 2. I realize that means I skipped a few festivals in the first year, but I'm going to pretend that since Vaughn probably didn't care about those things anyway, he wouldn't have remembered them. Yeah...let's go with that. But anyway, despite that, this is still based on some of the things he says during crop festivals, both when you win and when you lose. Oh, and some of this is also inspired by a particular scene from _Fruits Basket_. Enjoy.

Vaughn couldn't help but smirk slightly when Chelsea's name was called, declaring her the winner of the Spring Crop Festival. The other inhabitants of Sunny Island cheered for her, and even he gave a quiet applause as she stepped up to receive her prize, smiling shyly the entire time.

After placing the Blue Wonderful Stone in her rucksack, the girl glanced up and spotted him in the crowd. A surprised smile spread across her face, and she quickly made her way over.

"Vaughn!" she said. "What are you doing here today?"

He shrugged. "I was working in Sun Valley when I heard that one of the farms was participating here in the Festival today. So I was curious to see it. Congratulations, by the way."

Her cheeks flushed, but she still grinned proudly. "Thanks. I'm actually a little surprised that I won, though."

The cowboy glanced at the other participants who continued to linger in the meadow. "Your hard work paid off," he said simply.

She nodded. "I guess so…But the other farmers worked really hard on their crops, too."

"I guess," he grunted. Honestly, he didn't really care. Farming and crops just weren't his thing.

He glanced away, but he could still feel her sapphire eyes fixed on him as she frowned, looking a little uncertain. Then she exhaled softly. "I guess you don't remember, then…"

A questioning brow rose as he turned to her again. "Remember what?"

"Just…something you said…" She shook her head and shrugged. "Never mind, it doesn't matter."

If the roles had been reversed, Vaughn would have let the subject drop at that point, and Chelsea probably would have persisted until he finally gave in and told her just to get her off his back. So, figuring he was justified, he asked, "What did I say?"

The rancher hesitated, biting her bottom lip slightly as she glanced at the ground. "Just…something you said at the Fall Crop Festival last year."

He had a feeling he wasn't going to get any further information, so he thought back to that event, trying to remember what happened. The Fall Crop Festival, he recalled, was the first crop festival held on Sunny Island since business on the island started. He'd forgotten most of that day, though, since it wasn't really his thing, but he somehow remembered the theme for that season was eggplant (despite his dislike for the purple vegetable), and Chelsea had obviously participated then as well. If his memory served correctly, she had lost that season…and after the judging, she had come to talk to him…

_Don't be disappointed. It just means that everyone else grew better vegetables. It's as simple as that._

He frowned as the words echoed in his own low voice. He hadn't said that…had he?

"Yeah…" Chelsea suddenly responded, as if reading his mind. She looked up at him with a slight incline of her head. "And I was just wondering…do you think that way about the other participants?"

He turned to her. "What do you mean?" he asked…although he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear her answer.

Shoulders slumping a bit, she glanced at the other farmers from the different towns. "Do you think that they lost just because I grew a better vegetable than they did? Or…was that a special thought just for me?"

Vaughn winced slightly, opening his mouth to give her an answer. But he closed it quickly, realizing that he had absolutely no idea what to tell her. When she lost at the Fall Crop Festival, he hadn't thought much of it. He'd given her a truthful statement, was all. But today when she took first place, he didn't consider the other entries any better or worse than hers…so no; he hadn't thought her vegetable was better than the others.

And he actually felt…guilty about it.

"It's okay," Chelsea said with a shrug. "You were probably right then, anyway. So this season, I worked really hard on my potatoes, and apparently they were good enough this time." She laughed. "I still can't believe it, though."

Vaughn frowned deeply, his face creased with discomfort; he'd never intended his words to affect her like that. He wanted to say something more, but decided against it as he saw some of the other townspeople approaching. He took a few steps back, allowing them to gather around the farmer and excitedly congratulate her on the triumph. With a small sigh, he pulled the brim of his hat further down and turned away slightly.

As he did so, however, he caught sight of two men a few feet away, standing close together as they talked. They were tall – not as tall as he was, but taller than most people – and were dressed in similar khaki slacks and faded shirts, one red and one blue. He remembered seeing them on the boat ride over from Sun Valley and thinking they were probably twins. He didn't take too much notice of them, though, because they weren't any of his concern. He wouldn't have really noticed them now either, except for the bits of conversation he couldn't help but overhear.

"So that's the farmer who won, huh?" the man wearing red muttered.

"Yeah, that's her," the man in blue replied. "She's kinda cute, huh?"

"I guess so," the red man said. "Nothing really special, though…"

"Well no, not really. But as far as farmer girls go, she's not too bad."

Sliding his hands into his black denim pockets, Vaughn glanced back at Chelsea as she continued to talk with some of the other girls in town. Thankfully his hat was low enough to veil both his eavesdropping in the men's conversation, and his watching the female rancher. He felt a little bothered by the idea of having similar thoughts to these two men; a year ago, when he first met her, he didn't think there was much to her. She looked decent enough, certainly, but nothing out of the ordinary.

As he watched her now, though…hearing her laugh warmly with people she considered friends, and noting the soft color in her face that seemed to glow in the praise she received…he found himself thinking she was anything _but_ ordinary.

His thoughts were interrupted when the two men began speaking again; they tried to keep their words hushed between them, so he listened carefully.

"I heard she runs the ranch here all by herself," the red man said. "She looks a little young, though, doesn't she?"

"I guess," the blue man said with a shrug. "But that might make her pretty easy, don't ya think?"

Vaughn felt his fists clench and unclench.

"Are you kidding?" the red man retorted. "She's a farmer, after all. With the kind of work she does, she could probably beat you up."

The blue man laughed. "Maybe. But she's gotta be lonely, running that ranch all on her own. And she could be pretty desperate…or pretty trusting, depending on how old she is." He elbowed the red man with a grin. "I bet it wouldn't take very much to convince her to drop by our hotel room…"

His jaw tightening, Vaughn exhaled sharply as their words reminded him why he didn't interact with people much; there were just too many who couldn't be trusted. And while _he_ knew that, he began to wonder if someone like _Chelsea_ ever learned a lesson like that. She didn't seem like the type of person who ever experienced the darker side of people, but she couldn't be _that_ naïve…

But he frowned as he remembered the day he first met her; her unlocked door in the early morning, her voice cheerfully beckoning him into her home – a ranch on the outside of town, her joyful reception of a complete stranger…He hadn't realized it _then_ , but _now_ , as the island grew larger and more people were settling down here… _anything_ could happen.

"Are you leaving already, Chelsea?" a voice asked, snapping through his daze and turning his attention to the brunette and old man Taro.

She rubbed the back of her head with an apologetic smile. "Yes…" she replied. "I'm sorry I'm not staying to help clean up, but I still have some more work to do back at the ranch."

"Think nothing of it, my dear!" the old man crowed, jabbing the ground with his walking stick. "You just head on back and take care of that ranch of yours!"

As she began bidding goodbye to the rest of the villagers, Vaughn glanced back at the two men. He could see the smug grin on the blue man's face as he calculated, working out a plan to lure the unsuspecting girl. He could see that the blue man was just waiting for the opportunity to approach her, ready to strike when she was alone.

"Hey, Vaughn?"

The cowboy turned to the rancher while trying to keep an eye on the other men. "What?" he asked, somewhat distractedly.

"Well…" She hesitated, noticing that he wasn't completely paying attention to her. "I was just heading home now, so –"

His lips moved before he realized it. "I'll walk you home."

Her body stiffened and her sapphire eyes widened, staring up at him in shock. "Wh-what…?"

Truthfully, his words even surprised himself. But as he regained his composure and thought, he added hastily, "I have to take the ferry back to Sun Valley anyway, so it's on the way."

She blinked. "But…aren't the docks in the opposite direction of my ranch?"

He rolled his eyes. "You don't want me to go with you, then?"

Chelsea laughed, albeit a little nervously. "That's not it…I just…" Clearing her throat, she folded her hands behind her back. "Well, if you want to, I guess I wouldn't mind the company."

Inwardly he sighed in relief; if she'd rejected his offer, he wasn't sure what else to do. He looked toward the two men once more, noticing the aggravated expression on the blue man's face seeing that he couldn't get the girl alone after all. Vaughn scowled fiercely at them both, not bothering to disguise his rage for them; his narrow eyes warned them off, threatening them should they ever come anywhere near this girl. He watched in satisfaction as the two men returned his gaze fearfully, and visibly shrank back before turning and quickly heading off.

"Vaughn?" His expression quickly softened as he turned towards Chelsea, who stood waiting for him by the bridge. "Are you coming or what?"

He grunted softly, slowly walking up to her before the two of them made their way across the island. They walked at a leisurely pace as they talked, though she did most of the talking – about nothing or everything, whatever came to mind – while he simply listened with his hands in his pockets. Normally it annoyed him when people talked too much, but now…well, he was surprised. This actually wasn't too bad.

It was already dark when they finally arrived at the ranch, but Vaughn still noticed how things had changed since the last time he visited. Though there were still large boulders and stumps littering the field, there were significantly less weeds than he recalled. There were also no plants growing, but he could see the freshly-dug soil from where she had harvested, waiting for new crops to accommodate. In the distance, he could see some of the buildings that were fixed up, and her house looked a little bigger than he remembered.

"You're doing pretty well for yourself," he appraised.

Looking at him, she grinned. "Not bad for a year, I guess…" she replied, grabbing an axe that he never noticed leaning against the side of her house. "But no matter how much I do, there always seems to still be more work."

"You planning on working now?" he wondered.

"Well yeah…" She rested the axe on her shoulder and placed her free hand on her hip. "Even on a festival day, I gotta take care of my ranch."

Vaughn shook his head. "You can take one day off. You really should get some rest."

Chelsea laughed softly, throwing her hair back from her shoulder. "I'll be fine…really. You don't need to worry about me, Vaughn."

He opened his mouth in protest, ready to insist that he was _not_ worrying about her. But his mouth snapped shut when realization finally dawned on him; it was _exactly_ what he was doing.

He was _worrying_ …about _her_ …

His eyes widened as his heart pounded with sudden understanding, coursing it throughout his entire body. But luckily the dark kept his face hidden from the girl, and he pulled his hat lower over his eyes for good measure. "Do what you want then. I don't really care," he muttered, his voice gruffer than usual.

She didn't seem to notice, however, as she just shrugged, writing it off to his usual sullenness. "Well, thanks for walking me home, Vaughn."

He scoffed and mumbled an indistinct response, turning and quickly heading away from her and the ranch, just in case she would make out the dark blush staining his cheeks. Because no matter how hard he would try to act in his usual stern manner around her, he could no longer deny to himself the truth he discovered this night.

He was worried about her…because he _cared_ about her…He actually, honestly _cared_ about her…

And somehow, that troubled him more than anything else.


	6. Wealth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based on something Vaughn says when you talk to him at Mirabelle's shop (though I forget what color heart he has when he says it). I was actually really surprised when he said it. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt it kind of made sense with his character. Still, I thought it was interesting, and decided to try a scene with it. It turned out pretty cute, especially when I added a little more inspiration from _Fruits Basket_. Anyway, enjoy.

Vaughn couldn't help but frown slightly as he stood in the Animal Store, watching as Chelsea once again offered gifts to Mirabelle and Julia with a friendly smile and a slight blush on her cheeks. He hated to admit he was curious about what the farmer gave to the two animal store-owners, but the boxes prevented him from seeing the items. He usually wasn't so nosy, but he had to wonder just what kind of gifts she gave others.

He knew that some of the presents she gave to people, such as the milk she always gave him, were from her farm. Some of the things she gave were from the island itself. But some of the gifts she gave were store-bought, and he wondered just how much money she was spending to give people things…how much money she was losing just being nice to others.

As he noticed the brunette approaching him, he pulled his hat lower over his head. "Morning, Vaughn," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey," he replied gruffly.

She held out a silver canister to him, her cheeks colored a little darker as she did so. "Here. My cow was in an especially good mood this morning, so the milk should be awesome today."

Hesitantly, he carefully lifted the cover of the bottle and looked at the milk inside. Inhaling slightly, he then capped it again and muttered, "You could probably get a lot of money for high-quality milk like this."

Chelsea blinked, an uncertain expression set on her face. "I…guess…" she replied slowly. "But I…I want _you_ to have it."

"I'm serious, though," he insisted, setting the milk down. His eyes then focused into hers, trying to see through her…the way she sees through him. "How are you doing on your ranch? Are you earning enough?"

Her mouth opened, floundering to answer him. "I'm fine…" she finally managed to say. "Really. I'm working hard and doing my best."

"You'd probably have to work a little less if you didn't spend what you received on frivolous things."

Her lips pursed together in a thin line, Chelsea placed her hands on her hips. "What's gotten into you?" she wondered. "Why are you so concerned about my profits?"

He scoffed and folded his arms across his chest. " _You_ don't, obviously. You need to be smarter about your money and manage it, not foolishly throw it away just to give people silly things."

She met his hard gaze with one of her own, crossing her arms as well. "Huh…" she mused. "I knew you weren't the nicest person in the world, but I never took you for someone like _that_."

Vaughn turned away from her, glaring at the wall. "Money rules the world. You can't do anything without money. Never forget that."

For a moment, the farmer did nothing and simply stared at him, frustration and confusion in her sapphire eyes. Then, with a loud sigh, she stormed out of the Animal Store, slamming the door on her way out.

The sudden crash startled the two store owners, drawing them from their business. But Julia recovered quickly and turned accusing eyes towards Vaughn. "What'd you do _now_ , Vaughn?" she demanded.

Avoiding her gaze, the cowboy reached down and picked up the milk canister. His business was his own and no one else's; while he was worried whether Chelsea had enough money to take care of herself, other people didn't need to know that.

* * *

Vaughn didn't usually amble through the forest this late in the day, but it was the best place to be alone and clear his head. It had been a long summer day, and he somehow hadn't seen Chelsea since their argument that morning. It bothered him a little, especially knowing that it was probably his own fault that he hadn't seen her, but he didn't know what to do about it.

There wasn't much he could do now, though. The ferry was arriving in a few hours and he had to leave for Mineral Town tonight. A walk from the forest to the docks would take a while, which gave him a little more time to think about how to apologize. Getting off the island might help him think straight as well.

On his way to the bridge, however, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed a chocolate-colored horse some distance away, grazing a little along the path. His brow furrowed together; he'd seen Chelsea riding her horse enough to know that she owned the only one on the island. But what was it doing all the way out here?

The horse lifted its head as he approached, watching him warily and looking ready to run off. He moved slowly, holding up his hands to show he didn't mean it any harm. The horse watched him for a moment, then snorted and returned to grazing, allowing him to draw closer.

When he was close enough, Vaughn gently patted the animal's neck and drew its attention to him. "Hey," he said softly, stroking the horse's fur. It nickered softly and nudged his shoulder.

The wild dogs would be prowling soon, and he wondered why the rancher would leave her horse out in the forest like this. He knew the girl had better sense than that. Then why…?

"Is your owner around here?" he asked, loud enough for her to hear if she was close by.

The animal snorted again, and he took it as an affirmative answer as it turned and glanced at him, expecting him to follow. He walked beside the beast, keeping a hand on its side as it led him to the Goddess Pond. Underneath one of the trees, he could make out a familiar figure shadowed by the darkness.

At first, his heart leapt into his throat when he saw Chelsea lying there. But as he knelt beside her, removing her bandanna and checking her for any injuries, she stirred a little and rolled to her side, snoring softly as she settled back down. Then he rolled his eyes, realizing she was simply sleeping.

"Hey," he said, shaking her slightly. "Hey, wake up."

She murmured a little, but didn't rouse from her slumber.

He sighed. "Idiot," he whispered, but his tone sounded more amused than anything. Rising to his feet, he removed the rope he carried on his belt and tied a lasso, loosely placing it around the horse's neck. Holding onto the other end of the rope, he carefully scooped the girl into his arms and carried her bridal style, letting her head rest against his shoulder as he took her and her horse home.

Vaughn walked slowly from the forest back into town, making sure not to stir the girl in his arms too much that she might wake up. He also had to keep the horse under control as it walked along beside him. By the time he crossed the bridge, it was already dark and the ferry would be arriving soon. He stood for a moment; debating whether he should drop the girl at one of the nearby residences and let _them_ take care of her while he went to the docks and prepared to leave the island.

He didn't have a lot of time to think, however, when the horse snorted, tapping a hoof on the dirt road. With a sigh, Vaughn carefully shifted the girl's weight in his arms before leading the horse along again, taking the road up to her ranch.

As he stepped onto the property, he released the rope and let the horse run freely, deciding to take care of the animal later. Then he continued on to the house, fumbling to get the door open with the rancher in his arms. Somehow he managed and stepped inside, pausing a moment to take a look around.

Though her house was bigger than the last time he was here, there weren't many other differences than that. He noticed the kitchen, and could see she now had a refrigerator and a cabinet. But other than that, it seemed exactly the same as before.

His thoughts were interrupted when the girl in arms murmured softly, turning into him and burrowing her face in his chest. His cheeks burned, remembering why he was there in the first place and wondering how he'd forgotten, even for that one minute. The heels of his boots clacked against the wooden floor as he moved further inside, gently placing her down on the bed.

Chelsea stirred slightly, a frown on her face as if she disapproved of the change. But she settled back down quickly, turning onto her side and pulling her pillow close to her.

While she became more comfortable, Vaughn stood and watched her curiously. She had a very serene look on her face while she slept, as if she didn't have a care in the world. Even with all the work she had to do, even with all the pressures of expanding the island, even with the need of taking care of herself, her animals, her crops, _and_ taking the time for the people around her…at the end of the day she still managed to relax and not let all the stress bring her down.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and this time he did nothing to hide it. Kneeling down beside her bed, he gently brushed strands of her chestnut hair from her face and whispered, "I'm sorry…okay?"

Murmuring again, the girl snuggled deeper into her pillow and sighed softly.

Rising to his feet again, Vaughn walked as quietly as he could to the door, briefly pausing at the table to place the farmer's bandanna down. Glancing back at her one last time, he then closed the door behind him.


	7. Strength

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got the idea for this one after once again losing an animal festival, this one being the Chicken Festival. Man, Taro can be pretty brutal sometimes when you lose...If someone had actually said that to me, I'd be pretty hurt too. But it made for a good scene, especially since Vaughn seems to be one of those people who doesn't care what anyone else thinks. It was pretty fitting, and provided some needed fluff. Enjoy.

"You got cocky!" he heard old man Taro yell. "If you don't try harder, you'll never win anything!"

As Chelsea gave her soft reply, Vaughn frowned and shook his head. He knew that everyone on the island had high expectations for Chelsea, but they really shouldn't put so much pressure on her. She shouldn't be the only one representing the island and helping it grow. Even with all the work the others did, they all seemed to rely on the farmer for everything.

When the old man was finally finished and headed away, he approached the brunette and stood beside her. She glanced at him, sighing heavily as her shoulders drooped. "I don't think I'm any good at these animal festivals," she murmured.

He shrugged, glancing towards the crowd congratulating the winner and his chicken. "Forget about it," he replied. "Take good care of your animals. Win next year."

"I guess." The girl rubbed her arm as she looked around the meadow. Something that caught her eye brought a small smile to her face. Curious, he glanced in the direction she was facing to see a young tan boy dressed in a long, striped loincloth and face paint.

Vaughn had only heard about the jungle boy from a few rumors floating around island, but this was the first time he'd ever seen him with his own eyes. The boy and the other man from the jungle supposedly belonged to a native tribe that has lived on the island for generations. From what he heard, though, they never left the jungle and didn't cause any problems. So what were they doing here now?

"Hey, Shea," Vaughn heard Chelsea greet the jungle boy, and he looked at her in surprise. "What's wrong?"

Glancing back at the jungle boy, the cowboy noticed that he actually did seem upset about something.

The boy, Shea, kicked a pebble in the grass as he looked at Chelsea. "I thought for sure Chelsea chicken would win," he replied softly. "But you lost." He sighed. "So sad…"

The girl laughed, patting the jungle boy on the shoulder. "It's okay, Shea. Maybe things will be better next year."

Shea stared at her for a moment, the confused expression on his face leading Vaughn to believe that he didn't really understand what the farmer said. Then the boy suddenly pulled Chelsea into his arms and embraced her tightly, and his muscles urged him to pry the boy off in case he might hurt her. He stopped himself, though, when the girl gently returned the embrace. But that didn't stop the swell of anger in his body as he watched them together.

After what felt like too long, the boy pulled away and smiled. "Chelsea will do better next year!" he said happily. "Chelsea chicken will win!"

Chelsea giggled softly. "I hope so," she replied.

Suddenly the sound of screaming and frantic clucking echoed throughout the meadow, followed by a loud whooping, and the three turned to see the other three participants and their chickens running as the larger jungle man chased them with his spear.

"Uh…Shea…" Chelsea murmured.

"Uh oh…" the jungle boy said. Hurrying to catch the man, he called in a rush, "Bye, Chelsea, see you tomorrow!"

Vaughn watched with a raised brow as the jungle boy left, then turned to Chelsea.

The girl laughed softly. "Wada wanted some…um…chicken…" she replied, somewhat nervously.

"Huh…" Vaughn said. It was an interesting sight to see, actually. And, considering the results of the Chicken Festival anyway, it was rather funny.

At that moment, Mirabelle came over carrying Chelsea's chicken, Peep, in her arms. "Chelsea," she said calmly, despite the situation going on around them. "Here's your chicken."

Glancing at the jungle man and boy, Chelsea hesitantly accepted her bird. "Thanks," she replied.

"I'm sorry you didn't win this time," the older woman said, stroking Peep's feathers. "But there's always next year."

"I know," the farmer replied with a small smile. "Thank you."

With a nod, Mirabelle turned and headed off, still seemingly unconcerned about the natives chasing the chickens.

When she was gone, the two watched the jungle inhabitants for a little while longer before Vaughn turned to her. "Want me to walk you home?"

"Shouldn't we stop Wada from catching those chickens?" she wondered.

He shrugged. "I'm sure the little jungle boy can take care of it." Gently patting her shoulder, he urged her towards the bridge. "Let's go."

* * *

It wasn't until they were back in West Town that Vaughn finally noticed just how reversed their roles were; on the entire walk home, _he_ was the one talking – giving her tips about animal care that could help with future animal festivals – while _she_ was the one who listened, oddly silent as she held her chicken. There was a far-off look in her eyes, and he could see something was wrong, but he didn't ask about it. It wasn't his business anyway.

Except it bothered him seeing her like this…

When they were finally back on the ranch, Chelsea finally looked up at him. "Are you leaving tonight?" she asked softly.

He thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I have to be here tomorrow anyway," he replied, "so I might as well stay the night."

"Are you staying at the inn?"

"I guess so."

She nodded, glancing at the chicken in her arms. Looking back up at him, she granted him a little smile. "Well, thanks for walking me home, Vaughn." With that, she turned and headed further onto her land.

He watched as she headed for one of the buildings that surrounded the crop field, and he figured it was the chicken coop. Normally this would be the moment when he would leave and go wherever he needed to be, yet he still found himself rooted to that one spot. Her behavior still bothered him, and he _knew_ something wasn't right. And he wouldn't leave without knowing what that was.

When she came out of the coop again, she froze. "You're still here?" she called across the field.

"Is that a problem?" he called back, stepping further onto the land.

He could see her hesitate slightly, avoiding his gaze as she rubbed her arm. "Well…no," she replied. "I mean, you're welcome to stay if you'd like…but I don't think I'll be very good company right now."

"Why not?" he asked, slowly closing the distance between them.

"Well…um…" Instinctively she took a step back as he came closer. "I've got a lot of work to do right now."

Vaughn continued forward, his height giving him the advantage as he covered more ground than she did. "Don't you finish all your farm work in the morning?"

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "I'm never really done. There's _always_ work to do."

"You can leave it for tonight," he said. "It's been a long day. Let's take a walk somewhere."

She looked up at him, a faint blush on her cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak, but caught herself and shook her head. "N-no, I-I can't," she stammered. "I have so much to do."

"You don't have to do it right now," he insisted.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as her brow furrowed in an angered expression. Inhaling deeply, she said, "Vaughn, I really _have_ to finish all this work! There's so much I need to do on the ranch, so many ways I can make it better! I _need_ to keep working, so I can improve –!"

"Why?" Vaughn demanded. "Why do you want to improve? Why do you _need_ to get better?"

Her fists clenched at her sides, and she yelled, "Because I'm tired of letting everyone down!"

As soon as the words left her lips, the fury in her face melted as tears filled her eyes. She turned away from him, and she continued softly, "Everyone's…counting on me. They all think that if I do well, then people will flock to the island and settle down, and everything will be great. But if I keep losing…then why should they bother?" She paused, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Everyone is always so sure that I'm going to win the festival, no matter what it is. And when I lose, they just…" She shook her head, shuddering a little. "That's why I _have_ to get better. I _can't_ keep disappointing everyone…" She fell silent, turning away from him completely.

Vaughn sighed. He was afraid of something like this happening. By placing all their aspirations on the girl and her work on the ranch, they left the future of the island in her hands. That was a lot of burden for anyone, let alone a young girl who wanted so much to help those around her. They probably didn't _mean_ to do it, but that didn't stop it from happening anyway.

Suddenly the girl turned again, heading for her house without looking at him. "Anyway," she murmured, "I gotta get back to work…"

He grabbed her arm before she could get too far. "Hold it," he said, pulling her back.

"Vaughn, please…"

Turning her so she would face him, he placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her still. "Listen," he said, a little more exasperated than he intended to be, "you need to _stop_ caring about what other people think."

She looked at him uncertainly. "But…"

"Look, I get it, okay? I know you like helping people, and you don't want to let them down. Fine." He looked into her eyes, holding her gaze so she would hear him. "But if you don't take care of _yourself_ , then you can't be expected to take care of anyone else."

She stared at him silently, unsure of what to say. So, taking a breath to calm himself, Vaughn continued. "Now, forget about _everyone else_. Forget about what they tell you, about what they think…forget about what _they_ want. What do _you_ want?"

Chelsea blinked, opening her mouth to speak. At first no words would come out, and she seemed unsure. Then, pursing her lips together, she looked at her feet and seemed to reflect. Looking up at him again, she said firmly, "I just…I just want to do the best I can."

Seeing the resolution in her eyes, he nodded. "Then do _that_ ," he said, "and you'll be fine."

He was unprepared as she sprang forward, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. Eyes grew wide, and his heart pounded rapidly and sent heat coursing through his stiff body.

"Thank you," he heard her whisper, breaking him from his daze.

Somehow, he found his arms slowly wrapping around her shoulders, awkwardly returning the embrace. Then he gently pushed her away, clearing his throat loudly as he pulled his hat further down on his head.

"Come on," he grunted, "let's go for a walk."

Watching him for a puzzled moment, Chelsea then giggled softly. "Sure."

Vaughn slid his hands into his pockets as they once again left the ranch, falling into a comfortable silence. But, taking a quick glance at her and noting her brighter smile, he smiled a little as well.


	8. Shine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one's a lot shorter than the others, mostly because it's kind of like filler. I didn't have a lot to work with for this one, other than it was the Horse Festival and I just wanted to write with the image of Vaughn riding a horse, haha. The chapter's not entirely for nothing, though, since it does kind of develop the plot and their relationship a bit.

"Aw man!" Chelsea said, crossing her arms. "I can't believe I lost again!"

Vaughn shrugged as he brushed her horse. "So you lost," he said, sparing her a glance. "It happens. Go for it next year."

"I know, I know…" She sighed, patting her horse as it nudged her shoulder. "I just…I really thought I would win this year."

A curious brow rose as he looked at her again. "Does it bother you?"

She grinned a little as she returned his gaze. "Well…not really," she admitted.

With a smirk, Vaughn finished up and handed the rancher back her animal brush. She removed her rucksack and placed the brush inside, then pulled an apple out and fed it to the horse. It nickered softly, taking a bite out of the red fruit.

As he watched her feeding her animal, he slid his hands into his pockets. "I guess you'll need to take your horse back to your ranch."

When the apple was gone, the girl brushed her hands and turned to him. "Well actually…it's still a little early, and I thought I'd take a ride somewhere." She favored him with a shy smile. "You…wanna come?"

He blinked, glancing at the horse. "Think she can carry us both?"

"Sure she can!" Chelsea replied, gently patting the horse's neck. "Isn't that right, Rin?"

The horse neighed and bobbed its head in affirmation.

With a soft laugh she turned back to the animal trader. "Since you've been walking me home after festivals lately, I thought it might be fun if we went riding somewhere. Besides…" she added with a playful grin, "since you're a cowboy and all, I thought you'd look good riding a horse."

Vaughn smirked, pulling down his cap. "Is that so?" Then with a quick jump, he hopped onto the horse's back. Rin nickered in surprise, but the trader calmed her before glancing down at the rancher. "How's this?" he asked.

Though a faint blush colored her cheeks, Chelsea laughed softly. "Not bad," she replied.

He rolled his eyes. "You coming or what?"

Eyeing him curiously, she placed her hands on her hips. "Shouldn't _I_ sit in front?" she wondered. "Rin's _my_ horse."

He shrugged. "I'm a cowboy, remember? I look good on a horse."

She laughed again and shook her head. Then, with a shrug, she hopped onto her horse behind Vaughn. "Okay," she said, "all set."

Gently patting the horse's neck, he glanced at the girl over his shoulder. "Hey, how fast does Rin run when you ride her?"

"Um…" Chelsea thought for a moment. "A trot…or a canter, I guess. I don't know."

"Hmm…" With another smirk, he said, "Better hold on, then."

"What do you mean?"

Without answering, he lightly kicked the horse's sides. With a neigh, the horse took off into a gallop, and Vaughn smirked when he felt Chelsea's arms wrap around his waist and cling to him tightly.

* * *

"The moon's so bright tonight," Chelsea murmured as she stared up at the sky, her arms still around Vaughn.

The trader didn't reply, keeping his attention on steering the horse to the beach. They had spent the afternoon and late into the night riding around the island, and it was close to the time the ferry would leave the island. He would have preferred taking Chelsea back to her ranch before coming here, but to walk from her ranch to the beach would take too much time, and he could miss the ferry.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" he asked as they neared the dock.

"Don't worry, Vaughn," she replied. "I promise I'll head right back to the ranch after this. Besides, it's kind of nice dropping you off somewhere for a change."

He glanced at her. "You trying to get rid of me?"

She laughed. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant…well, you've been nice enough to walk me home before. And I just like the chance to return the favor."

When the horse came to a stop, Vaughn carefully slid off the horse before helping the rancher down. "You know you don't have to do that," he insisted.

With a small smile, Chelsea shrugged. "I know," she replied. "But then…neither did you."

Silence fell between them then as they stood together at the docks, both unsure of what else to say to the other. A gentle sea breeze blew overhead, bringing a light marine mist in its wake. They stared out at the ocean for what felt like hours, but just as Vaughn was about to say something, his words died down in his throat when he was interrupted.

"Hey!" a voice called from the boat neither of them noticed before. As they looked, they could see a shadowed figure waving over the railing. "We're about to shove off! Are you two coming or what?"

With a sigh, Chelsea looked up at the cowboy. "You better get going," she said softly. "They might leave you behind."

He turned to her with a small frown on his face, several things for him to say running through his mind. In the end, though, all that came out was, "I guess I'll see you later."

She nodded, folding her hands behind her back. "Yeah," she replied slowly. Then, with a smile, she added, "Have a safe trip."

He pulled the brim of his hat down as he turned, his boots clacking against the wood as he walked along the docks and onto the boat. A low horn sounded from the vessel as some of the crew pulled up the walkway, and the boat gave a low groan as it slowly floated away from the dock. Gaining speed, the boat soon drifted farther and farther away from the island.

Even so, however, as Vaughn stood on deck and leaned against the railing under the night sky, he could see Chelsea standing on the docks and waving him goodbye. No matter what, he saw her standing there; even after the island itself disappeared, all he had to do was close his eyes, and he would see her smiling at him.


	9. Fireworks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is based on the Fireworks Festival in Year 2.

Vaughn wasn't really sure how Julia convinced him to return to Sunny Island on a Saturday when he was supposed to be working elsewhere. He wasn't sure how she convinced him to come to Sunny Island on the Saturday when they were hosting the Fireworks Festival. He wasn't sure how she managed to convince him to _attend_ the Fireworks Festival, considering he didn't really like fireworks. He wasn't sure how she'd convinced him that the festival would be fun, and it would be nice if he came.

The only thing he _was_ sure about was that he stood in the meadow, after hours of helping Gannon and Chen set up, and was now watching others arrive while waiting for the festival to start.

He could feel the excited buzz as the townspeople talked in anticipation for the fireworks, and he didn't really understand why it was such a big deal. To him, fireworks had no real purpose; they were simply loud colored lights in the sky that only needed to be seen once. Since he'd already seen fireworks, he couldn't believe that Julia had talked him into attending the festival and watch fireworks. He just didn't see the point.

"Stop looking like such a grump, Vaughn," Julia suddenly piped up, poking him in the shoulder. "You're the only one here not having any fun!"

"Yeah," the pink-haired girl, Natalie, retorted, "lighten up, cowboy."

He glared at her, causing the more soften-spoken male, Elliot, to advise the girls to leave him alone. Vaughn sighed as he watched Natalie start teasing her older brother, wondering if he could sneak away without them noticing.

Since Julia was the one who invited him to attend the Fireworks Festival, and since he didn't interact with most other people on the island, it made sense to watch the fireworks with her. However, he didn't know that she also planned to watch them with Elliot and Natalie, who he didn't know much about except for the fact that Julia seemed to have a crush on Elliot. And since he didn't talk with them much, he could easily tell that the two of them were uncomfortable around him.

Not that he really cared. He wasn't too at ease with them either.

For a while, Vaughn thought about hanging with Denny instead. Other than Julia and Mirabelle, Denny was probably the only person he really got along with; the two of them spent a lot of time on the beach, and holding a conversation was bound to happen. And he learned that Denny, like himself, was a wanderer before coming to the island. He actually could relate with the fisherman in certain ways, which was hard for him to do with most people.

However, he found that Denny was going to watch the fireworks with the pop star, Lanna, and the miner's daughter, Sabrina. As with Natalie and Elliot, he preferred not to spend time with people he didn't know.

Unfortunately, that also eliminated most everyone else at the festival.

With an irritated sigh, Vaughn pulled his hat lower on his head, resigning himself to suffer in silence until the festival was over.

"Vaughn?"

The familiar voice drew him from his thoughts, and he turned to see Chelsea approaching him with a curious expression on her face.

"Hey," he grunted when she was close enough to hear.

"Hi," she said slowly. "I didn't know you were gonna be here."

With a shrug, he simply said, "Julia told me to come."

"Oh…" She glanced at the blonde store-owner before turning back to him with an excited grin. "Awesome! This is going to be so much fun!"

Vaughn snorted. "Hardly…" he muttered.

Her smile falling, she looked at him with an incline of the head. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He turned away from her, looking to where Gannon was checking the fireworks display once again. "Nothing," he replied. "I just don't understand what the big deal is."

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "Duh," she retorted, "it's the Fireworks Festival! We're celebrating the show of fireworks on Sunny Island for the first time ever! Everyone on the island will be able to see them!"

"Then why do _we_ have to be _here_?" Vaughn wondered, his annoyed tone softening just a bit.

The farmer giggled and folded her hands behind her back. "Because it's different seeing fireworks up-close like this. Being right where they are, watching them explode right above you is special…it's so thrilling!"

"Hmph," he scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. "I've seen fireworks before."

Chelsea sighed softly. "So have I," she said with a shrug. "But this is going to be so much better, you'll see! It's so much nicer to watch fireworks with just a few close friends in a quiet place. You'll have fun, I promise, but you have to give it a chance!"

Something about the pleading look in her sapphire eyes made all the contempt for this day melt, and he allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "If you insist," he conceded, "I'll watch them with you."

Immediately, he could see that his invitation was not lost on the girl; her eyes widened in surprise as her cheeks blushed. Then she smiled brightly and nodded. "I'd love to!" she replied.

He nodded. "Okay." With a small smirk, he added playfully, "I don't want to, though." She laughed softly.

Suddenly, Gannon's booming voice echoed over the meadow, "Let's get this started!" The chattering stilled among the crowd as everyone sat in the cool grass, friends grouping together in certain areas. However, Vaughn didn't really feel like joining any of them – truthfully, he didn't feel like being so close to anyone else now.

As though reading his thoughts, Chelsea gently took his hand and led him past all the others; they both ignored the questioning looks they received from anyone who saw them (at least _he_ ignored them, _she_ probably didn't even notice) as they headed for the back of the meadow, away from the crowd and finding a private spot for the two of them.

They sat underneath one of the trees, leaning against the sturdy trunk as the fireworks were finally lit. The first rocket tore through the air in a trail of smoke, exploding in a thousand colors against the backdrop of the sunset sky and sending a wave of awe through the spectators. More rockets quickly followed, lighting up the early summer evening.

Vaughn watched silently, surprised to feel his heart racing. The explosions shook the ground beneath him and rang in his head, sending a rush of excitement coursing through his body. As crackling colors rained down and faded, he glanced at the girl beside him.

Chelsea watched intently, a large smile spread across her face. The glow of the fireworks danced across her face, reflecting the sparkle in her wide sapphire eyes. The colored rockets highlighted the gentle blush of her cheeks, and he found the blasts of the display were drowned by the roar of blood flowing between his ears.

He couldn't help as the whispered words escaped his lips, "They're beautiful."

Even over the racket she heard him, and she nodded in unspoken agreement. It was then that he noticed their hands still laced together; he gently tightened his grip on her, drawing her out of her trance and focusing on him. Their eyes locked, and he watched as shadows from the fireworks flickered across her face, barely masking her surprise and questioning gaze that he had no answer for.

The wailing of rockets brought them back to the show, and they both turned to see the many fireworks ascend all at once, exploding in a flurry of painted brilliance. His breath was caught in his throat, and he felt her gasp softly as colored fire showered over them before disappearing into the darkened sky.

Applause broke through the crowd, dispelling the magic of the display as people rose to their feet and filled the meadow with conversation once more. But for a moment, he and Chelsea remained seated where they were, and he breathed slowly to regain his composure.

When he finally felt brave enough to talk, he managed a faint, "Huh."

She hesitantly glanced at him. "What?"

Turning to her, he ignored the heat on his cheeks as he murmured, "It's actually pretty nice to watch the fireworks with you."

She smiled shyly, a blush on her cheeks as well. But with a long sigh, she returned to her normal cheerfulness and said, "That _was_ beautiful. Let's watch again next year!"

He chuckled softly, rising to his feet and helping her up. "We'll see…"

She laughed and nodded, knowing that was as close she'd get to a yes. They both stood silently for a while longer until they realized their hands were still entwined. She glanced up at him curiously, as though waiting for him to make the first move.

He hesitated, a little unsure, before he slowly turned, gently tugging on her hand to follow. She complied happily, and they left the meadow together hand-in-hand.

* * *

They stood just at the entrance of her ranch silently, each lost in thought. The ferry off the island would leave soon, and Vaughn had to head for the docks now in order to catch it. But there was something on Chelsea's mind, he knew, and he waited patiently for her to speak.

When she did, her words came out very soft. "Do you…have to go?"

He nodded, turning slightly away from her. "Coming here today threw off my schedule, so I have a lot of work to make up for."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "I'm not."

Reluctantly, they both withdrew their hands from each other; even with his leather glove, his palm suddenly felt cold. Trying to ignore it – and failing – he gripped the brim of his hat and brought it lower over his head. "Good night," he said softly.

He only managed one step away when she called him back. "Vaughn…"

When he turned back to face her, he found his arms suddenly filled with her, his arms fitting around her form almost perfectly. Then his eyes widened when her soft lips brushed against his own. Before he had a chance to respond, she retreated from him, and in the blink of an eye she was gone.

He stood, frozen, as he stared at the spot where she'd just been …where she _should_ be right now. His muscled twitched, urging him to go after her – for an explanation, for a chance to return it, for _anything_. But the spot where she had…kissed him… seemed to burn his face, sending a searing ache to his heart.

So, despite all the protests that raged within him, he turned and made his way to the docks. It was just too much to deal with right now. This was all too unfamiliar to him, and he didn't know how to handle this. These thoughts, these feelings…everything was so strange and unusual…and he didn't know what to do.

Therefore he simply did what he always did; he left to wander…in hopes of abandoning it all together.

Even though he knew…this was not something he could run away from this time.


	10. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah...this is based on a lot of things, really. But mostly it was just to develop the relationship further.

Folding his arms across his chest, Vaughn tapped his foot edgily as the crowd praised Chelsea for winning the Summer Crop Festival. Part of him wanted to approach her, to congratulate her as she deserved. But the other part of him – the part that was currently winning – was still too uneasy to confront her. Four days was not long enough to think about that fateful evening.

At first, he was dreading the trip to Sunny Island, still unsure of what would happen between him and the farmer after what took place at the Fireworks Festival. But knowing he could never explain to Mirabelle why he wouldn't come to the island, he convinced himself that the two of them _did_ need to talk. If anything, he deserved an explanation for her behavior that night.

Except, even now, he still couldn't bring himself to speak with her. Especially since he had the feeling that she was avoiding him…

And he couldn't help the familiar twinge of resentment as he watched the girl pleasantly chatting with Elliot and a guy who, like most people on the island, Vaughn knew nothing of but his name: Mark.

Honestly, he knew the irritation he felt was unreasonable; they were simply talking. But for some reason, he couldn't control feeling so troubled by it.

That, along with everything else he was feeling, prevented him from moving toward her, even as she looked up and caught his eye from across the crowd. They stared for a moment, frozen in place despite the activity going on around them. Then the girl blushed and glanced away, muttering something to her companions before running off.

He watched her cross the bridge and disappear from sight. He knew where she was going, and he easily could have followed her. But instead he remained where he was; waiting for what felt like hours before finally leaving the meadow. He walked slowly, in case she wasn't far enough ahead of him – luckily, he never saw her. As he entered West Town, he hesitated for just a moment, then headed down to the beach.

He wasn't surprised to see Denny fishing at the docks; he didn't show at the festival, and the diner wasn't open on festival days, so there weren't many other things for him to do. Vaughn walked along the sandy shore slowly, reluctant to draw the other man's attention. Denny always insisted on trying to strike up a conversation when they were both at the beach, and sometimes he would go ahead and humor the fisherman; tonight, though, he didn't feel much like talking.

Unfortunately, as Denny turned and noticed him draw closer to the water, he grinned and spoke up, "Hey!"

Vaughn reached for the brim of his hat, tipping it in response to hide the roll of his eyes.

"How was the festival?" Denny asked as Vaughn stood beside where he sat on the docks.

The cowboy shrugged. "Fine, I guess," he grunted. "Chelsea won."

Denny's grin broadened, and he nodded in approval. "Awesome! I knew she could do it."

Vaughn returned the nod, watching as the waves lapped against the shore. For a few minutes, only silence passed between them, and he hoped that those were the only words that they would exchange.

However, he knew that wasn't the case when Denny spoke again, "You okay?"

Surprised by those words, Vaughn glanced at the fisherman. "Yeah," he replied. "Why?"

Denny shrugged, focusing on his fishing line. "I dunno. Just looked like you had something on your mind."

Frowning, Vaughn turned away from him and exhaled sharply through his nose, planning to ignore the fisherman…

"Is this about Chelsea?"

…only to be immediately drawn back into the conversation.

Somehow – though he wasn't sure how – he managed to keep his stoic expression as he looked back at Denny. As casually as he could, he asked, "What makes you say that?"

Denny shrugged again. "Chelsea's been kinda down for the last few days, too. I've tried asking her, but she just kept saying that she didn't wanna talk about it."

Vaughn nodded, slowly sitting beside the other man. He felt reassured knowing that Chelsea hadn't talked about what happened that night with anyone else before talking with him, but he knew that he also owed her that same courtesy. So, trying to avoid the topic, he decided to voice something else that was on his mind.

"Do you talk with Chelsea often?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I guess." With a small sigh, Denny reeled his line back in just to cast it back out. "Sometimes she comes by at night, so we usually fish together and chat. It's a lotta fun."

The familiar wave of anger started to build again, but Vaughn's slow breathing kept it under control. He just couldn't believe how irritated he felt when he thought of the time Chelsea spent with other men. Granted, he knew he wasn't the most cheerful person in the world, but he just couldn't understand why this bothered him to the extent that it did.

Denny's voice pulled him out of his thoughts again as he asked, "Are you and Chelsea having a fight or something?"

Vaughn started to shake his head, but stopped. Thinking for a moment, he then replied reluctantly, "I don't really know."

The fisherman glanced at him with a puzzled frown. Reeling in his fishing line once again, this time he placed the rod on the docks next to him and turned to give his full attention to Vaughn. "Do you need to talk about it?"

Drumming his fingers against the wooden port, the cowboy sighed. He _couldn't_ tell Denny what happened that night; he wanted to talk with Chelsea about it first and figure out what happened…what _would_ happen now. And since _she_ never mentioned it to anyone else, it wouldn't be fair for him to do so. But…the whole thing unsettled him enough that he actually _wanted_ to talk to someone about it.

And with his lack of dealings with people, a little advice probably wouldn't hurt.

Vaughn stared at the ocean, determined to avoid Denny's eyes as he said slowly, "Something…happened between Chelsea and me…And I don't think either of us knows what to do about it."

Denny blinked, cocking his head to one side. "Good or bad?" he wondered.

Vaughn shrugged. "Hard to say."

Folding his arms over his chest, Denny inhaled deeply as he thought for a moment. Then he said, "Well…what do _you_ think about what happened?"

With a frustrated grunt, Vaughn turned his head slightly away from the other. "I don't know _what_ to think about it," he replied. "If anything, I'm confused. I don't know _why_ it happened, or if I should do anything about it…or if she even _wants_ me to do something."

"Have you tried asking her?"

Vaughn rolled his eyes. "I haven't really had the chance. I'm not here most of the week, and I didn't have a chance today because of the Crop Festival. Not to mention she's avoiding me, which means she might not want to talk to me."

Denny glanced out at the ocean. "Well," he said slowly, as though turning the words around in his mind, "apparently, you don't wanna talk to her either."

The cowboy turned and glared at the other man. "Why would you say that?"

Not intimidated by the cold gaze, the fisherman answered calmly "Because if you _really_ wanted to talk to her, you'd be with _her_ right now instead of _me._ "

Vaughn's scowl deepened, but only because he knew the other was right. He was just as guilty of avoiding the farmer as she was avoiding him. But what could he do? He didn't have much experience with relationships, and this was a problem that he wasn't sure how to handle it. It was really irritating.

"So…" Vaughn sighed, "what now?"

"Well," Denny started, "the way I see it, you can do one of two things." He held up one finger. "One: You can leave it alone, pretend it didn't happen, and maybe someday you two will forget it."

Subconsciously, Vaughn licked his lips as he thought of the Fireworks Festival that night. "I doubt _that'll_ happen," he retorted.

"Then you go with the second option." Denny held up a second finger. "You do whatever you can to figure out what's going on. Talk to her about it, 'cuz if you don't, things could get really bad."

Thinking about it for a moment, Vaughn then nodded. The whole situation made him uncomfortable, and not having the answers he needed just aggravated him. And from what Denny told him, Chelsea was just as miserable about this as he was. Talking to her about it couldn't possibly make things any worse.

"Fine," he finally said, rising to his feet. "I'll talk to her tomorrow."

Denny grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

There was an awkward pause as Vaughn looked down at the fisherman. Then, tipping his hat slightly, he muttered, "Thanks, Denny."

"Good luck," he heard Denny say as he headed back up the beach towards town.

* * *

Inhaling deeply, Vaughn slowly released it in an unsteady sigh. Hesitantly he approached the familiar house – once again larger than the last time he visited – as all the different things he wanted to say raced through his mind. Maybe it would be better if he let _her_ speak first…

Standing at the door, he steeled himself and mustered all the composure he could manage. He raised his hand to knock, but didn't get the chance when the door suddenly opened.

"Whoa!" Mark exclaimed, stopping short to avoid running into the cowboy. Looking up at Vaughn, he rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, man. Didn't see you there."

Vaughn simply stared at the shorter blond man for a moment, then slowly looked up to see Chelsea standing in the middle of her house; the surprised expression she wore on her face matched his own.

The silence that followed soon became uncomfortable, and Mark laughed a little nervously, scooting around the cowboy. Glancing back at the girl, he said, "Well, uh…see you later, Chelsea."

Vaughn watched as the other man hurried away, whistling cheerfully as he left the ranch. Turning back to the farmer, he met her wide sapphire eyes with narrow uncertainty.

"Vaughn…" she said softly.

Shaking his head, he turned and left.

* * *

Adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder, Vaughn slowly made his way through town. It was very cool that last summer evening, and the clouds that gathered above indicated that it might rain tomorrow. He vaguely wondered if it would start raining while he was still at sea.

He slowed a little as he neared the beach, glancing up at the moon. There was still a little time before the ferry arrived, and he debated whether or not to head to the farm and see Chelsea before leaving. After what happened that morning, he spent the entire day in the forest lost in his own thoughts. And the realizations that he came to calmed him down immensely while, at the same time, brought about a whole different set of problems. Trying to sort through it all took the rest of the day, and before he realized it the day was over before he had the chance to talk with the farmer.

As he approached the docks, however, he saw that it wouldn't be a problem.

Under the light of the moon, he could make out the two familiar figures on the harbor; Denny stood, fighting to reel in his line while Chelsea knelt down with a net, ready to scoop up the catch. They were both laughing, and he could feel the familiar spark ignite in his chest.

He stood, watching them as the fish was finally defeated, and Denny held it up proudly as Chelsea clapped her hands together. The fire within him grew, but he simply sighed and turned to leave.

"Hey, Vaughn!" Denny's voice froze him in place, and he forced himself to turn back around. Though the fisherman was the one who called him back, he glanced at the farmer, her eyes wide with surprise.

His feet moved of their own accord, slowly approaching the two on the docks. "Hey," he replied automatically.

"You waitin' for the ferry?" the fisherman wondered, resting his fishing rod against his shoulder.

"Yeah." Vaughn glanced at the female farmer again; slightly embarrassed, she blushed and turned away.

"I see…" Denny said slowly, looking between the two of them. Then, with a grin, he reached down and picked up his bucket of fish. "Guess I didn't realize how late it was. Better get to bed so I can get up early tomorrow. See you guys later."

They both looked up in alarm as Denny turned to leave, but Vaughn managed to catch the other man wink as he bustled off to his house, closing the door behind him and leaving them alone on the beach. He wasn't sure whether to thank the fisherman or to kill him.

A heavy silence settled over them, and he turned to look out at the ocean. A gentle wind blew overhead and sprayed a light mist; shivering, the girl wrapped her arms around herself.

"Vaughn…" she finally said softly, and he almost didn't hear her over the hiss of the waves, "what happened this morning…with Mark…it's not what you think."

He shrugged. "What you and Mark do is _your_ business, not mine."

She looked up at him. "He's studying to be a rancher, too. He came over and asked to look at my ranching tools, so I showed him how to use them. That's it."

He studied her curiously. "Why do you feel like you need to explain it to me?"

She blushed, unsure as she averted her eyes. "I…I just…" She swallowed nervously. "You just seemed so…angry this morning."

He grunted. "I was," he replied. "But not for the reason you might think."

He felt her puzzled eyes focused on him, but he ignored her question as he cleared his throat. Then the girl sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Vaughn…" she said again, "about the Fireworks Festival…"

He tensed slightly. "Yeah…?"

Her blush deepened, and she played with her fingers fretfully. "I'm…I-I'm sorry about…that. I didn't mean to make things uncomfortable like this."

Vaughn turned to face her. "So what _did_ you mean?"

Chelsea frowned, shaking her head slightly. "I…I don't know."

He growled in frustration as he folded his arms over his torso. But he inhaled deeply, working to keep himself in check before speaking again. "I need to ask you something…"

She glanced at him curiously. "What's that?"

His foot tapped against the dock restlessly as his mind worked to find the right words. "What…" he began slowly, "what is your relationship to…the other guys on this island?"

She stared at him silently for a moment, blinking in surprise. "The…other guys?"

He nodded. "Denny, Elliot, Mark, Pierre…all of them. What are they to you?"

She frowned a little, looking up at the dark sky thoughtfully. "Well…they're all great guys, and they're fun to be around. Elliot's family kind of took me in when we first got stranded on this island, so he's kind of like a brother to me. Mark, I told you, wants to be a rancher and comes to talk to me, and sometimes he'll help me with the chores around my farm. Denny and I hang out around here sometimes, and we catch fish together and he tells me about some of the places he's been, and the fish he's caught. Pierre shows me little things to help me cook, and sometimes when I've been working all day, he lets me drop by for dinner."

"What about that jungle boy?" Vaughn asked. "Shea?"

"Shea…" she said slowly, tapping her chin with her fingers. "Shea…doesn't ask much from me. He doesn't care about the island's reputation, and he doesn't expect me to win fame for this place. He's happy if I win a festival, and he's upset if I lose, but it's just because of how _I_ feel. When I feel so overwhelmed by all the things I have to do, I can always head over to him to relax and forget for a little bit. He's a great friend." She smiled a little. "They're all my friends…just like everyone else around here."

He hesitated for a moment, fiddling with the brim of his hat. "Everyone?" he asked.

She paused, turning toward him with uncertain eyes. "Well…" she said reluctantly, "it started out that way…"

"So what changed?" he wondered.

"I…I don't know." She crossed her arms, shivering again – though this time it wasn't because of the cold. "When we first met, I really _did_ want to be friends."

He waited, but when she didn't continue, he gently prompted her, "And now…?"

Chelsea blushed again, looking down at her feet as she whispered, "Now, I think…I want something _more_ …"

Silence once again fell over them, interrupted only by the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. His heart pounded against his chest, sending heat coursing all throughout his body. His wide eyes watched as she fidgeted nervously before him, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally spoke again. "Look, Vaughn…I am…sorry that what happened at the Fireworks Festival made things so…weird between us. But I'm not sorry that it happened. Even if that's all that comes from it, I don't mind. I just hope that you and I…that we can –"

He cut her off as he slipped his fingers underneath her chin, tilting her head up to look at him. Her cheeks darkened, and her sapphire eyes widened in surprise. He answered her by simply leaning forward and gently pressing his lips to hers.

He felt her body stiffen, but only for a moment before she relaxed; her hands moved between them and tightly gripped the front of his shirt, almost desperately. His arms wrapped around her waist, gently pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. He could feel her heart beating rapidly, keeping perfect time with his own.

The booming echo of a horn shattered the moment between them, and they both pulled away to see the ferry approaching the docks.

He kept his eyes on the looming boat, trying to avoid the misery shining in her sapphire eyes. "You're leaving _now_?" she asked, her grip on his shirt tightening.

Sighing softly, he placed his hands on hers, gently easing her grip on him. "I have to be in the city tomorrow," he replied. Still, even though she'd released his shirt, he continued holding her hands.

Though she tried to look angry, she could only muster a little pout. "That's not fair…"

He smirked a little. "I'll be back in a week."

Crossing her arms, she released an exaggerated sigh. "I didn't make _you_ wait that long!" she complained, but he could hear the teasing in her tone.

The walkway to the boat was lowered, waiting for him to embark. He hesitated, glancing at the girl. She gave him a small smile, and he tipped his hat before slowly walking onto the boat.

It felt almost immediately that the walkway was pulled back up and the boat shoved off the harbor, floating farther out to sea. Vaughn stood on the deck, his eyes remaining on the beach where Chelsea stood and watching until she was completely out of sight. Then, with a sigh, he pulled his hat lower over his head as the familiar frustrating spark light his chest, sending hot flames flowing in his blood.

Because of his lack of real relationships, it had taken him so long to recognize the truth behind these familiar sensations. But his time in the forest today showed him that the anger he felt was never toward Chelsea, or even to the other men that she interacted with. The resentment was always pointed at himself.

All this time, and only now did he finally realized how much he wanted to be just like _them_. He wanted to be like all those other guys who lived on that island, who had the chance to see Chelsea every day…who had the chance to get to know her, to talk with her and laugh with her, and spend time with her _every day_ …

He _wanted_ it…but it was something he felt he would never have.


	11. Labels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based on Vaughn's first yellow heart cut scene, which still took forever to get to. In the original cut scene, it skips the part where the player and Vaughn are actually playing with the wild dogs, and my original plan was to fill that in completely. I ran out of ideas though, and ended up just expanding a little bit before skipping as well. But I think it's okay as it is, especially when I sprinkled in a small element of the _Ouran High School Host Club_ anime.

Vaughn wasn't really into labels. He didn't care about what other people called him, and he didn't really care about what other people did as long as they stayed out of his way. It just wasn't something he ever really thought about.

Even so, as he returned to Sunny Island that first Wednesday of fall, he was surprised when Julia asked him if it was true that he and Chelsea were a couple and if they were dating. Apparently, during the time he was away, someone (and Denny's nervous denial told him _who_ did it) mentioned that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, which sent the little island buzzing with rumors.

Chelsea didn't seem bothered by any of it, though. When he saw her, she greeted him as cheerful as ever, albeit somewhat timidly. They talked for a while – about anything _except_ what happened the night he left – before she left to get back to work. If she knew anything about the gossip, she did very well to hide it.

He wasn't into labels. But the whole incident did force him to reflect on his relationship with the farmer. Things had changed between them, certainly, but to what extent? What was going to happen from there? Were things that serious between them that one would use the term 'dating'? And what was she expecting from all this? Better yet, what was _he_ expecting from it?

He sighed, leaning forward slightly and resting his elbows on his knees as he watched the three wild dogs playing before him. He came to the forest to think things over, but the dogs found him and didn't really give him a chance to work out any answers. Still he smiled as he observed them, not minding their company.

Placing his concerns aside, he held his hand out to them, and the largest dog approached eagerly. It sniffed his fingers before allowing him to pat it on the head. He always felt a little more comfortable with animals than people. As he's learned lately, animals were definitely not as complicated as people…

"Vaughn?"

A little surprised, he turned to see Chelsea standing behind him, a curious expression on her face.

Though he still had a million questions running through his mind about her – about _them_ – he found himself replying casually, "Hey, Chelsea."

She smiled a little, crossing her arms and shivering a little in the cool autumn afternoon. "Hey. I didn't expect to see you so close to the mountain. What are you doing?"

Before he had a chance to answer, the dogs all barked excitedly and ran up to her. She gasped and instinctively stepped back, but they managed to surround her on all sides.

He smiled a little as he noticed their tails wagging playfully, and he rose to his feet, facing the frightened girl. "Don't worry," he reassured her. "They're friendly."

She looked up at him with doubtful eyes. "Really…?"

He nodded. "They won't hurt anybody."

Blinking in surprise, she looked down at the dog in front of her. It barked, crouching down and inviting her to play. "How do you know?" she wondered. Even as she spoke, she slowly knelt down to be eye level with the dogs.

"I ran into this pack a while ago." He gestured a hand towards the canines, and they looked back at him as though waiting on his command. "They looked hungry, so I fed 'em."

"Oh…" Hesitantly she held out a hand to the dog. It sniffed her hand for a moment before suddenly jumping into her arms. She gasped in surprise and fell backwards, but then she laughed as the dog started licking her face. The other two canines jumped around her, barking earnestly for a turn.

He smiled a little as he watched her interact with the dogs, but the smile quickly faded as he turned away, folding his arms over his chest.

"Vaughn?" he heard her call him back, and he looked towards her again. Placing the dog back down on the forest ground, she looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

He sighed, sliding his hands into his pockets. "They count on me now," he said reluctantly. "Guess they think I'm part of their pack now." He didn't mention how he's never had anyone depend on him so much before.

Chelsea blinked, staring at him for a moment before looking back down at the canines. Then she grinned. "Let's play with them!" she exclaimed.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, amused by her innocence. For some reason, it made him feel a little better. "Heh. Guess I don't have any more work to do today…" he replied.

Her smile widened as she jumped to her feet. Grabbing a stick off the ground, she waved it above the dogs to get their attention. The largest one barked loudly, jumping up and grabbing it in its mouth. She laughed, trying to wrestle the branch away from it, but in the end it won and jerked it out of her hands. It ran off with it, and she and the other two dogs chased after it.

Vaughn lingered bit longer, not ready to jump into the game yet. He watched as the canine with the stick jumped and disappeared through a bush. The girl skidded to a sudden stop just in front of the bush, fighting to keep her balance. Unfortunately the other two dogs bumped into her as they jumped in after their pack member, causing her to stumble into the bush as well.

It was only then that he moved, approaching the rustling bush to see if she was all right. "Chelsea…?" he called.

The three dogs jumped back out of the bush with ease, and he couldn't help but think they looked awfully proud of themselves. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if she'd been hurt. Just as he was about to go in and look for her, though, she stood up from behind the bush, and he couldn't help but stare at her as she tried to catch her breath.

The red bandanna usually present on her head was missing, and her hair was tangled and messy, chestnut strands sticking out around twigs and fallen leaves. Spots of dirt smeared her face and clothes, rumpled and slightly torn from the branches. She had some scratches along her arms, but nothing seemed to be bleeding and…she just looked so _ridiculous_. He couldn't help it.

Vaughn burst out into laughter.

It was loud, echoing throughout the otherwise quiet autumn forest. And it was unrestrained, his self-control lost as he nearly doubled-over. His sides began to ache and it was hard to breathe, but it was too hard to stop. It didn't help when she started laughing as well; it only made him laugh harder, which of course made her laugh harder, and so on.

Eventually they both managed to calm down somewhat, trying to regain their breath through the chuckles that continued to escape their throats.

"You're so mean!" she exclaimed, but fell back into the fit of giggles she was fighting to control.

He chuckled, offering her his hand and helping her from the bush. "Sorry," he snickered. "I didn't mean to laugh at you…" Clearing his throat to soothe his mirth, he asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, brushing off some of the dirt from her body. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, fixing her clothes as best she could. Reaching up to her hair, she frowned as she felt through the knots.

He laughed again, carefully pulling a leaf out of her hair. "Yeah…not your best look."

She smirked. "Bad hair day, I guess. That's okay." Suddenly she snatched his hat off his head. "I'll just cover it up with this!"

"Hey!" He reached to grab his hat back from her, but she deftly dodged his hands and whistled towards the dogs. They barked energetically, jumping and chasing the two as Chelsea tried to outrun Vaughn. He was faster though, and easily closed the distance between them.

Just when he was in reach of his hat, however, she turned and tossed it over his head like a Frisbee. They both slid to a halt, watching as one of the dogs jumped up and caught the hat in its mouth, landing neatly on its paws and looking at Vaughn, almost daring him to try and get it back.

Chelsea laughed, slipping around him and running off with the dogs. Vaughn smirked and followed after them, knowing he'd catch them eventually.

* * *

They spent the entire afternoon just running and chasing each other. Hours later, as they sat trying to catch their breath, the dogs barked satisfied. Then they watched as the pack turned and ran off.

Vaughn sighed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand before placing his hat back on his head. "Phew," he said. "Finally tired 'em out."

Chelsea smiled, still trying to smooth out her hair. "I guess so," she replied.

Reclining back, he glanced at her. "It's been a while since I ran around like that," he admitted softly. Then he smiled. "Feels good to exercise like that every once in a while."

She nodded, gracing him with a smile. "I should play like that with Button more often," she remarked.

Watching her for a moment, he then sat up again, helping her gently remove the twigs and leaves from her hair. Leaning closer, he whispered in her ear, "That was fun. Thanks, Chelsea."

Blushing slightly, she turned to look into his eyes. "N-no problem," she stammered. "I-I had a lot of fun too."

Soon, all the debris was untangled from her hair. But Vaughn kept his hand there, smoothing her chestnut locks with his fingers. He watched her face carefully, noticing the flicker in her sapphire eyes. Then he slowly leaned forward, delicately brushing his lips over hers.

She moaned softly, leaning into him and deepening the kiss. It only lasted an instant, though, as they both pulled away at the same time. She smiled brightly, and he couldn't help but smile as well.

"It looks good on you," she whispered.

He blinked quizzically. "What does?"

She reached up hesitantly, brushing her fingers over his cheek. "That smile." She giggled softly. "You've been practicing, haven't you?"

It was his turn to blush, but his smile returned anyway. "I had a good teacher," he replied.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while longer until Vaughn finally stood. His legs would feel a little sore later, he knew, but for some reason he didn't mind. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. "Ready to go?" he asked.

She smiled sheepishly. "Actually, you go on ahead. I have to stop by the church for a bit."

With a small nod, he gently squeezed her hand before dropping it. "All right. I'll see you later."

She returned the nod, giving him a little wave before the two departed in their different directions. As he walked toward the bridge back to town, Vaughn sighed in satisfaction. His heart felt light…much lighter than he'd felt in a long time.

It didn't matter what he called his relationship with Chelsea. All that mattered was he was happy with her, and she with him. Whatever happened between them, they'd take it slow and figure it out.

And that was fine by him.


	12. Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based on something Vaughn says when you talk to him when he has a yellow heart. I have no idea how I got all _this_ from those two lines, but I did.

"Vaughn?" Chelsea said softly, placing her utensil down on the table.

Glancing up from his food, Vaughn looked at her curiously. "What?"

She hesitated, fingering the edge of her plate and averting her eyes. "Do you…" she began slowly, "do you…have any…family?"

He nearly choked on his food, placing his own utensil down and trying to clear his throat. Honestly, he knew that that sort of question was coming, but he didn't expect her to ask so soon.

Over the past week, the initial awkwardness of their new relationship had somehow dissipated, and things felt almost as when they were first getting to know each other. Chelsea returned to the lively farmer who was never afraid to approach him, and Vaughn continued his quiet, withdrawn behavior.

It wasn't _exactly_ the same, of course. They spent significantly more time with each other whenever they could. And they were very open about their relationship (whatever people wanted to call it). Like this moment, for example, as they sat at a table in Luke's Diner, eating an early dinner and talking, not caring who saw them together. Things were progressing well between them, and he was comfortable being around her.

Except moments like this, when she turned the focus onto him and asked him something he preferred not to talk about. He knew she was bound to ask about it, but he hoped the topic would be put off for a while longer.

He could feel her staring at him, boring the question into him with her eyes. He avoided her gaze, though, as he cleared his throat again and retrieved his utensil. "No," he replied calmly, hoping that she'd leave it at that.

She didn't, of course. "None at all?"

Sighing inwardly, he shook his head. "I live alone."

She frowned, and he could feel her sorrow for him. "That must be hard."

He shrugged, taking a bite of his food. "It's the only way to run a successful business."

"Really?" she asked, her head cocked to the side. "You think so?"

"Yeah." He risked a glance at her. "Why?"

The girl frowned, looking down at her plate and playing with her food. "Well, it's just…I live alone too. And I always thought it'd be nice to have a little help."

He watched her for a moment, noticing the change from her normally cheery behavior. "I thought Mark came to help you sometimes," he said.

She nodded, resting her chin in her palm. "He does, and it's nice. But I don't just mean help with the farm work. I mean help with…everything. It's just nice to have someone there to look out for you, y'know?"

He frowned a little. Truthfully, he _didn't_ understand. For as long as he could remember, he had no one to look out for him but himself. He never really cared, though, and just became used to being alone. It was also simpler for him to travel, which made his work much easier. He just never needed help with anything before. So he couldn't help but wonder what she meant.

They finished their meal in silence, and Vaughn placed some money on the table for the bill. Then, after he gently took the girl's hand, they slowly made their way back to her ranch.

When they arrived, he was surprised to see her animals out and around; the horse and cow were peacefully grazing in the field while her dog playfully chased the chicken. Turning toward her, he finally broke the stillness between them and asked, "You let your animals out?"

She smiled a little. "It was such a nice day today," she replied. "Too nice to let them stay cooped up inside the whole time."

He looked up at the early evening sky; the lingering streams of sunset color dimmed by the looming night. "You shouldn't let them stay out when it gets dark," he cautioned. "Especially at this time of year, when it gets colder at night."

"I know. I was going to put them back in now anyway." She glanced up at him. "Wanna help?"

Turning to her, he shrugged. "Fine." Then he smirked. "But only because I don't want your animals getting sick or anything."

She rolled her eyes, playfully hitting his shoulder before turning to the field and whistling loudly. Her dog, Button, looked up from her game of chase, and barked happily as she spotted the rancher. Then the canine began chasing the chicken again, herding the poultry toward the girl.

Peep clucked frantically as the dog chased her, and when she was close enough she jumped into the girl's arms. Chelsea held her carefully, stroking the bird's feathers to calm her down as Button sat at her feet, looking very proud.

Turning to Vaughn, the girl pointed to the building with the blue roof. "That's the barn," she said. "Could you put Haru inside?"

Glancing at the cow, he nodded. As she went to put her chicken back in the coop, he led the cow back to the barn. When he opened the barn door, the cow slowly walked inside by itself.

He lingered a moment, watching as the cow carefully lay down on the ground. He approached it slowly, kneeling down beside it and lightly stroking its back. The cow mooed, its tail flicking back and forth.

He smiled a little. "You're happy here, aren't you?" he asked softly.

Haru looked at him and mooed again, as though in affirmation.

With a small chuckle, he nodded and rose to his feet. It was easy to see that the girl took such good care of her animals, which was why he was usually surprised when she'd lose an animal festival. But with the kind of care she gave them, he knew it was only a matter of time until she won.

Exiting the barn, he made sure to shut the door securely so Haru couldn't get out. As he did so, he saw Chelsea coming out of the chicken coop. She approached him with a smile. "How's Haru doing?" she asked.

Turning to her, he nodded. "She seems fine."

The girl returned the nod, playing with her hands. "I'm excited for the Cow Festival that's coming up. I think Haru and I actually have a chance this year."

"You entered last year, right?" he asked as they headed down the field.

"Yeah. But at the time, I didn't have Haru for very long, so we were still getting to know each other when I entered." She shrugged. "It was probably a bad time to be in the competition, but it was still fun. Plus, I got to see what it takes to actually win one."

They stood by the stable, and Chelsea gave another loud whistle. This time, both Button and the horse, Rin, approached them. Bending down, the girl took the canine in her arms and adjusted the handkerchief around its neck.

"What's that for?" Vaughn wondered as he gently stroked the horse's neck.

The girl shrugged again. "Beats me. Button was already wearing it when we found her, and she wouldn't let me take it off. So I left it there. It looks good on her, though."

They brought the two animals back into the stable, and the canine jumped out of the girl's arms, curling up and settling down on the ground to sleep.

"Who's 'we'?" he asked.

Reaching into her rucksack, she pulled out an animal brush. "Me and Mirabelle," she replied, placing her bag on the ground and walking up to him. "Last winter, it was snowing and I was heading into the forest when Mirabelle found me. She said that she heard about a dog wearing a handkerchief around its neck, and asked me to look for it with her." She looked at the sleeping dog. "The poor thing was soaking wet when we found it, and Mirabelle said that it was already well-trained."

"It used to have an owner," Vaughn said softly, folding his arms over his torso. He hated the idea that _anyone_ could abandon their pet like that.

"That's what Mirabelle said too. And she didn't wanna leave her in the forest all by herself. So she asked if I would take her." Looking at him, she smiled a little. "And really, how could I say no to a face like that?"

Glancing at the dog, he chuckled. "Yeah, I can see how it'd get you."

With a smile, she held up the animal brush. "Here," she said. "You wanna brush Rin?"

"Why me?" he asked, even as he took it from her.

"Because Rin likes you," she replied with a pouty tone. "She hasn't seen you since the Horse Festival, and she's missed you." She patted the horse on the side. "Isn't that right?"

Rin nickered softly, gently nudging the cowboy on the shoulder.

Smiling smugly, she placed her hands on her hips. "See?"

Vaughn rolled his eyes. He didn't really mind, but it was pretty interesting to see the rancher getting back-up from her horse. It further showed how close she was to her animals, and he admired that about her. So without another word, he gently stroked the brush along the mare's short fur as the girl fed the horse grain by hand.

When they were finished, they left the stable and he handed the brush back to her. She took it from him, and as she stuck it back in her rucksack, she looked up at her field. "Darn it…" she sighed.

He followed her gaze curiously. "What's wrong?"

With another sigh, she walked over to a patch of soil where a few small plants seemed to wilt. "My eggplants are dying."

He stepped closer, though still kept a small distance from the soil. "I thought you were better than that," he teased.

She glared at him, kneeling down in the dirt. "It's not my fault!" she protested. "It's been cloudy and rainy for the past two weeks! They can't grow very well without sunlight, but how I was I supposed to know there'd be no sun?" With a frustrated huff, she tried pulling out the failing plants like weeds.

He had to suppress a chuckle as he watched the difficulty she had. "Wouldn't that be easier with a tool?" he suggested.

She sighed, brushing her hands and rising to her feet. "Yeah…" She looked toward him. "Do you think you could get my hoe? It's in the toolbox right by the door."

He opened his mouth to protest, but under the moonlight he could see her batting her eyelashes with a small pout on her lips. With a small scoff, he turned and headed into her house.

As he opened the door to her house, he glanced around until he found the toolbox she mentioned. He hesitated, however, since he didn't really know which tool she was asking for. He didn't care for farming, so he wasn't familiar with the equipment. Scratching the back of his head, he went back outside to ask her.

"Chelsea…" he said softly, slowly approaching the field. But then he stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing when he realized that something wasn't right. Though Chelsea still stood by the patch of cultivated soil, her back was to him as she stared out at something across the pasture. And even in the dark, he could see that her body was tense.

"Chelsea…?" he repeated, taking a step closer to the field.

A low snarl suddenly caught his attention, and he looked up towards the field. His eyes widened and his heart seemed to stop when he saw the large wild dog stooped beside a boulder, its sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Its black fur stood on end as it slowly skulked closer, and its eyes flashed dangerously, as though calculating its next move.

"Vaughn…" he heard the farmer whisper, snapping him out of his shock. Looking toward her, he then glanced back at the canine…and his blood ran cold when he realized the wild dog was targeting _her_.

"Chelsea," he hissed, moving toward her so agonizingly slowly so he wouldn't attract the dog's attention. "Chelsea, don't make any sudden movements…just try to back up…"

"I-I can't…" she whimpered, and he could hear the fearful edge in her voice.

He cursed under his breath; he didn't blame her for being scared, but now was _not_ the time to freeze up. He continued stepping towards her, but the distance between them seemed to stretch on forever. All the while, he kept his eyes on the wild dog, watching it carefully. But despite all his diligence, what happened next passed so quickly that _he_ almost missed it.

The wild dog growled viciously, crouching down before leaping through the air towards Chelsea. He reacted in an instant; Vaughn charged forward and grabbed the girl, protecting her just as the canine landed on top of them both. He winced as they landed – he was trapped between an animal much larger than he was and the ground, trying to keep himself from crushing the girl beneath him.

"Vaughn…!" she exclaimed.

He could feel the heat from the beast's jaws as it snapped at him. Somehow adjusting his weight, he managed to flip the dog off him so he could roll off Chelsea. But the wild dog growled and pounced on him again, pinning him to the ground and biting at him. He blocked with one arm to protect his head, clenching his jaw as the razor teeth sank into his flesh. With his other arm he wrestled against the dog, trying to keep the larger animal from crushing him completely. He tried to throw the dog off him again, but the hold it had on his arm gave it the greater advantage.

Even amidst the struggle, he could hear a light barking echoing throughout the ranch, and he vaguely wondered if Chelsea at least escaped to her house, just in case this dog's pack was joining it on the hunt. But unexpectedly a small blur rammed into the wild dog's side, sending it sprawling a few feet away with a yelp.

Breathing heavily, Vaughn propped himself up on the elbow of his good arm and sat up slowly to see Button crouched in front of him defensively, positioned between him and the wild dog. Button barked fiercely at the intruder, which responded with a low snarl. The two canines stood and stared each other down, waiting for the other to lower its guard. But after a moment, the wild dog slowly turned and walked away with its tail between its legs, disappearing into the night.

With a groan, Vaughn sat up completely and clutched his injured arm to his chest as Chelsea ran up and knelt beside him.

"Vaughn!" she said, her hands gently gripping his good arm. "Vaughn…! Oh Goddess…!"

He shook her off, trying to ignore the ache that spread to his shoulder as he did so. "I'm fine," he retorted, though the pain sharpened his tone.

Shaking her head, the girl pushed his hand away. "Let me see it," she said, carefully taking his injured arm. Carefully she rolled up the tattered black sleeve, revealing the blood-stained skin. She squinted a bit, then shook her head and removed her red bandanna, pressing it to his arm.

"Here," she said, taking his free hand and placing it on his arm. "We need to put some pressure on it to slow the bleeding."

Doing as he was told, he looked up at her and managed a small smirk. "You a doctor too?" he muttered.

Despite the situation, she gave a small laugh. "If I tried treating you, I'd probably make it worse." Taking his arm, she cautiously helped him to his feet and let him lean on her a little as they walked slowly towards her house while Button followed along behind them.

She helped him over to the bed, easing him to sit down. "Do you need anything?" she asked softly.

He shook his head, avoiding her eyes by watching Button curl up near his feet.

Hesitating for a moment, Chelsea then walked to where the telephone rested, picking the receiver from its cradle and quickly dialing a number. He watched her curiously as she stood, her foot tapping anxiously as she waited.

Her demeanor brightened slightly as she fidgeted with the phone cord. "Hello," she said, fighting to keep the tremble from her voice, "may I speak to Dr. Trent please?"

Vaughn watched as she listened for a moment, then she turned so her back was facing him. "Dr. Trent?" The strain from her body dwindled slightly…but not completely. "Hi, Doctor. This is Chelsea, from Sunny Island…Yes, it's good to hear from you again too."

There was a pause, and he watched as the girl squirm restlessly. "No, _I'm_ all right, but…my boyfriend was in an accident…"

He felt heat rush to his cheeks; though they understood the extent of their relationship, they'd never voiced it out loud to anyone before, not even themselves. It was always just implicitly acknowledged. Just a little self-conscious, he reached up to pull his hat lower over his head…only to discover his hat was missing.

Chelsea's voice once again drew him in to the one-sided conversation. "Oh really?" She sighed softly. "No, I understand…Yes, okay. Thank you. Bye." Shaking her head, she hung up the phone and turned to him. "Dr. Trent can't make it here until tomorrow morning," she said with a helpless shrug.

"It's fine," Vaughn said, wiping some of the blood from his arm with the girl's bandanna; it was ruined anyway. "It's not too bad, really."

She bit her bottom lip, silently watching him for a moment. Then her face lit up suddenly. "Oh!" she exclaimed, snapping her fingers. He looked at her inquiringly as she hurried to the door.

Pausing for a moment, she looked at him. "Just stay here, okay? I'll be back in a few minutes."

He blinked. "Okay…"

She nodded, then called for her dog. Button looked up and barked, jumping to its paws and swiftly following after her. The door closed behind them, leaving him alone in the girl's house.

Glancing around the dwelling, Vaughn then closed his eyes to prevent his curiosity from getting the better of him. Instead he inhaled deeply and released it slowly to calm himself. Despite what he said to Chelsea, his arm actually did hurt. He opened his eyes again and lifted the bandanna from his arm. The cloth soaked up most of the blood, but he could see the wild dog's teeth marks quickly filling with the thick red liquid, and he pressed the bandanna to his arm again.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but he jumped slightly when the door was thrown open, and he watched puzzled as Denny followed Chelsea inside.

"Hey," the fisherman said as he walked up to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Vaughn paused, staring at the other man for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

Denny knelt in front of him, removing the bandanna to get a look at his arm. "Chelsea asked me to come," he replied with a shrug.

Vaughn looked up at the girl skeptically, but she just shrugged before looking at the fisherman. "You think you can do something?" she wondered.

Denny thought for a moment, studying the injury before rising to his feet again. "I guess so," he replied, turning to her. "But you wouldn't happen to have any bandages, would you?"

Chelsea shook her head slightly, and Denny folded his arms across his chest as he thought again. "Well…" he said slowly, "I think Chen might have some. At least that's where I usually buy some. Would you mind heading down there?"

"Is Chen's store open right now?" the girl asked.

Denny shrugged. "Dunno. But if you tell him what happened, I'm sure he'd give you some."

Hesitating for a moment, the girl then looked at Vaughn, who shrugged a little. He really had no idea what was going on, but motioned for her to go anyway. Then she nodded and ran out again without a word.

When she was gone, Denny glanced around the house until his sights rested on the kitchen. Turning back to Vaughn, he said, "In the meantime, we should probably clean that out." He gestured towards the kitchen sink.

Vaughn nodded, slowly standing and following the fisherman. Denny turned the water on and let it run for a moment, testing it a few times before deeming it the right temperature. He motioned for Vaughn to put his arm under the stream, and the cowboy complied, though somewhat begrudgingly. He grimaced as the hot water filled the puncture wounds, sending an upsurge of pain through his arm.

Looking at the fisherman, Vaughn couldn't help but ask, "So why are you here?"

Denny gave a lopsided grin, scratching the back of his head. "Well, Chelsea came down to the beach and asked me to help you. She told me that you were bitten by a wild dog, and she remembered how I told her about the time I was bitten by a shark…"  
Vaughn rolled his eyes a bit as he removed his fingerless gloves and threw them on the counter.

"So she asked if there was anything I could do to help. It's kinda the same I guess, now that I think about it…" Glancing at Vaughn's injured arm, Denny then looked up at him. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Vaughn shrugged. "I've had worse."

Denny blinked. "You've had worse?"

The cowboy nodded, carefully cleaning the dirt and dried blood from his arm. "When you transport animals on a boat, some of them get seasick or nervous. That can lead to aggression and they might be prone to attack."

Denny gave a low whistle. "You get bitten a lot?"

"Comes with the job," Vaughn replied calmly.

A silence settled between them, but it only lasted for a moment before Denny cleared his throat to speak again. "So…what happened anyway? I mean, Chelsea told me that a wild dog attacked you, but…"

Vaughn frowned. "Chelsea was working in her field, and I was helping her out. I guess it was out hunting, and it decided that Chelsea was prey."

Denny's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah." Vaughn sighed, shaking his head. "When it tried to attack her, I stepped in and it got me instead."

Denny's brow furrowed in uncharacteristic solemnity, his gaze focused on the bite marks along the other's arm. Then he nodded and sighed. "Well, that's good."

The cowboy glanced up. "Why's that?"

Denny looked at him, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't get me wrong, Vaughn," he said. "I didn't mean anything bad by it, and it sucks that you got hurt and everything." He hesitated briefly, avoiding the other's gaze as he grabbed a nearby dishtowel. "But I was just thinking about what could've happened if you hadn't been here tonight. I mean, I can't really imagine Chelsea fighting off a wild dog, y'know?"

The full force of the words hit Vaughn instantly, and he felt his heart leap into his throat. He didn't even _consider_ that. What would have happened if he hadn't been with her tonight? If she'd been all alone on her farm, and the wild dog attacked…He knew Chelsea was strong, but…she'd been so _scared_ when it showed up that she couldn't move… Could she fight off a wild dog?

And if she couldn't, what would have happened if the wild dog came? All alone, in an area so remote from the town…no one would have heard her. No one would have known until the next morning…when it would be too late…

The grisly image was jerked from Vaughn's mind when the door opened again, and he and Denny looked up to see Chelsea return. The cowboy watched as she placed his hat on the table before approaching them.

"Here," she said, handing the bandages to Denny. "Is this enough?"

Denny shut the water off and handed the dishtowel to Vaughn, who took it and dried his arm. "Yeah, this should be good." He unrolled the gauze and tore off a sizeable piece. As Vaughn carefully removed the towel, Denny replaced it with the bandage; wrapping it around the trader's arm firmly enough to slow the blood flow.

When he finished tying it up, Denny took a step back. "That should do for now," he said, "but you should probably have a doctor look at it."

"I already called Dr. Trent," Chelsea offered. "He said he'd come on the first ferry in the morning."

Denny nodded. "Sounds good."

The girl gave him a small smile. "Thanks for all your help, Denny," she said.

Vaughn nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Denny."

The fisherman grinned slightly. "No problem." With a bow of the head, he made his way to the door. "Take it easy," he added, closing the door behind him.

Vaughn and Chelsea lingered in the kitchen for a moment, avoiding the other's eyes as they stood in silence. Then, grabbing his fingerless gloves, Vaughn said, "I should be going too."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "You're leaving now?"

"It's getting late," he replied, flexing his arm experimentally and wincing as his muscles protested. "I should probably get back to the Inn."

She grabbed his good arm. "You don't have to go. Why don't you just stay here tonight?"

He frowned. "Here?" It seemed a little awkward somehow. There was only one bed, after all, and that either meant that someone would sleep on the floor, or they would share it… Truthfully, though, he didn't mind the idea.

Chelsea nodded vigorously. "I don't mind, really. And like you said, it's getting late…" Her words trailed off into a whisper as she looked away.

Realization finally dawned on him, and he sighed. "You don't have to worry, Chelsea," he assured her. "It's gone."

"But what if it comes back?" she asked, looking up at him again with tear-filled eyes. "What if more come? You can't protect yourself with your arm like that! Please…" She sniffled, wiping the tears that started streaming down her face.

Vaughn's body stiffened, his eyes widening as he stared at the girl. He'd never seen her _cry_ before, not like that, and for some reason his heart seemed to break for her. As if by instinct, he wrapped his good arm around and pulled her to him, holding her trembling body as she buried her face into his chest.

"I was so scared…!" she murmured, clutching his shirt tightly. "When it attacked, I just…I was terrified…!"

"It's okay now," he soothed. "I wasn't gonna let it hurt you, you know that."

She shook her head, looking up at him. "That's not what I mean. When I saw it there, yes I was frightened. But when it attacked, I was scared for _you_."

Vaughn frowned. "For me?"

"Of course!" She rested her head on his shoulder, her tears dripping to the floor. "When it attacked, and you protected me…I was so afraid that you were going to get seriously hurt, and I didn't know what to do…I thought it was going to kill you…!"

Vaughn held her steady as she broke down into sobs, a puzzled frown on his lips. He was used to caring for himself, after all, and lately had grown used to worrying about this girl as well. But this was the first in a long time that someone was so worried about _him_.

* * *

A gentle tapping sound roused Vaughn from his light sleep, and with a small groan he rubbed his eyes and sat up. As he did so, he winced when his sore arm began to throb, painfully reminding him of the events that took place the night before. Stifling back a yawn, he glanced around a little before realizing that he was sitting on Chelsea's bed.

Just as he began to wonder where Chelsea was, he found the girl sitting on the floor leaning against the bed, her arms cushioning her head as she slept. He frowned and gently brushed her bangs from her face. Had she been like that all night?

A knock once again drew his attention, and he realized it was coming from the front door. He hesitated, a little unsure of what to do; he didn't want to wake the girl, but her position prevented him from getting up and answering the door himself. With a sigh, he gently shook her.

"Hey, Chelsea," he said softly. "Wake up."

With a small murmur, the farmer slowly sat up and stretched her arms over her head. She looked up at him sleepily, but before she could say anything the knocking on the door grew louder and caught her notice. She frowned for a moment, puzzled; then her face lit up with remembrance and she jumped to her feet, hurrying to answer the door.

"Dr. Trent," she said, letting in the young-looking doctor.

"I'm sorry," Trent said as he slowly entered, "did I wake you?"

Chelsea nodded, rubbing the lingering sleep from her eyes. "It's okay. I probably should've been up already anyway." Clearing her throat, she led Trent to the bed where Vaughn sat. "Dr. Trent, this is Vaughn. Vaughn, this is Dr. Trent from Mineral Town."

The two men shook hands, regarding each other silently for a brief moment. "Yes, I believe I saw you around while I was vacationing here in the summer," Trent remarked.

Vaughn nodded, recalling seeing the raven-haired man around Sunny Island during the summer. He had no idea that the man was a doctor, though.

Placing his medical bag on the floor, Trent then pulled up a chair and sat in front of Vaughn. "Chelsea said you'd been in an accident," he said. "Could you tell me what happened?"

Vaughn described what happened that night, explaining in as much detail as he could. Trent listened silently with a thoughtful expression on his face, and he could almost see the doctor's mind working.

When he finished, Trent nodded to himself, reaching for something in his bag. "I'll need you to remove your shirt," he finally said, rising to his feet.

Vaughn sighed and rolled his eyes but did as he was told, slowly unbuttoning his black shirt and shrugging out of it. Glancing up, he smirked in slight satisfaction as Chelsea blushed and glanced away.

Sliding to the side of the bed, Vaughn turned slightly so the doctor could examine his back. He winced when Trent pressed a particularly tender spot on his shoulder.

"Well, there's a lot of bruising, but it doesn't look too bad," Trent commented. "It should clear up in a few days." Coming back around front, he carefully took Vaughn's injured arm, unwrapped the soiled bandages to inspect the slowly-bleeding wounds. "You cleaned this up last night?"

"Yeah," Chelsea replied softly. "A friend came by last night and helped us take care of it."

"Hmm…" Trent paused for a moment, then reached for a clear bottle of pink liquid and a cotton ball resting on the chair. Unscrewing the cap to the bottle, he delicately poured some of the pink fluid onto the cotton.

"Was…that okay?" the girl asked apprehensively. "Or should we have just waited for you?"

"Actually, it's a good thing you did," the doctor replied, gently dabbing the soaked cotton ball on Vaughn's arm; the cowboy flinched as the wounds began to sting. "Otherwise, things would probably be a lot worse right now."

"How's that?" Vaughn hissed as the medicine began to burn.

Trent carefully cleaned up some of the excess liquid with a clean cloth, as well as any trickling blood. "The puncture marks are pretty deep," he explained, retrieving some bandages from his bag. "If you hadn't taken care of it right away, there's a chance your arm could've been critically infected."

Vaughn and Chelsea exchanged stunned expressions.

"The infection would've taken much longer for your arm to heal," Trent continued, wrapping the gauze around Vaughn's arm. "And even the healing process could've been affected, depending on the severity of the infection. Outcomes can range from loss of controlled movement of the infected limb…or even loss of the limb itself."

Vaughn brow rose skeptically. "Really?"

When Trent finished wrapping the bandage, he rose to his feet. "Well, it's hard to say, really," he replied. "That's the worst that could happen, and thankfully it's not a risk at the moment. I recommend you change the bandage once a day, and try not to put too much strain your arm. If it feels any worse, you're free to get in touch with me, or see another doctor to have it taken care of."

With a sigh, Vaughn pulled his shirt back on. "Fine…"

"Thank you, Dr. Trent," Chelsea said softly. "I'm sorry I had to ask you to come all the way out here."

"It's no problem," Trent assured with a friendly smile. "If anything else ever happens, don't hesitate to call me."

She nodded as the doctor headed for the door, closing it behind him. Then she turned to Vaughn.

"I guess it was a good thing you got Denny last night," he said softly, buttoning up his shirt.

"I'm just glad you're okay," she replied. She stood silently for a moment, watching him pull his boots on. "You're leaving?"

He nodded, rising to his feet. "I still have some work to do with Mirabelle, and I should probably head back to my room at the Inn and get cleaned up."

The girl frowned. "Dr. Trent said you shouldn't strain your arm…"

"And I won't," he said, walking to the table where the rest of his affects rested. "But I still need to work."

She hesitated for a moment, glancing towards the door before nodding. "All right," she conceded. "Just gimme a few minutes before you go."

He watched as she headed towards the door, briefly pausing by the tool box and pulling something out before leaving. Then he returned to his things; slipping on his vest and belt, tying the handkerchief around his neck, putting on his fingerless gloves, and placing his hat back on his head. Then, as he stood and waited for the girl to return, he unrolled his torn sleeve to check the damages. Unfortunately, the sleeve didn't look salvageable, and he knew there were some rips in the back. It didn't feel right throwing the shirt out, though…maybe he could use it as a rag for something else.

He heard footsteps approach, and he looked up to see Chelsea return, carrying a canister of milk. She smiled softly as she walked up to him, holding out the flask to him.

"Here…" she said softly. "To keep your strength up."

He smiled gratefully, taking the silver can from her. "Thanks," he replied. Then, with a last tip of his hat, he moved past her and left her house.

"See you later," Chelsea called after him, and he knew that she meant she was going to check on him and see how his arm was doing.

But he didn't really mind. He was beginning to understand just what she was trying to tell him back at the diner; about having someone there just to look out for you. Even after discovering how much he cared for her – how much he worried for her safety – he hadn't realized that those feelings could run both ways. He didn't realize that _anyone_ could be concerned for him, or would take the time just to make sure he was okay. He didn't know how nice it was just having someone _there_ for you, no matter the reason.

But now…he wanted nothing more than to be cared for by that girl…and to be the one to care for her…always…


End file.
